NARROWSBURG, NY — The Tusten Social Youth Club marked the return of the NexTrex recycling program for soft plastics to the hamlet with a public art installation titled “Reduce, Reuse and Recycle.”

In place in November through Thanksgiving between the post office and the Delaware Valley Arts Alliance (DVAA), the work highlighted the group’s commitment to continue the community recycling efforts first established by the Tusten Energy Committee. 

During the fall, the club explored themes of community with Bethel Woods Center for the Arts, guest artist and sculptor Eric Baylin, and Jessica Weiss of growingSOUL (a group focused on zero-waste food sourcing and fostering interdependence).

It all added up to a collaborative artwork grounded in reducing, reusing and recycling—goals of the youth group as well. 

Tusten Youth Club thanked the DVAA and the Narrowsburg Post Office for welcoming the installation.

Find a bin

The NexTrex soft plastics collection bins can be found at the Narrowsburg Post Office, 75 Main St.; Pete’s Market, 120 Kirks Rd.; the Tusten Town Hall, 210 Bridge St.; and Print, Pack & Ship in the Narrowsburg Union, 7 Erie Ave. 

Sorting and collecting of the soft plastics will be an ongoing community effort between Tusten Youth Club, growingSOUL and Jill Padua of the Narrowsburg Beyond Plastics group. 

About the recycling program

The NexTrex recycling program was first introduced to the Town of Tusten by Brandi Merolla and the Tusten Energy Committee. The group’s efforts were rewarded with eco-friendly outdoor benches, including those located outside the Narrowsburg branch of the Western Sullivan Public Library, 198 Bridge St., and the deck on Main Street. 

Trex manufactures environmentally responsible wood-alternative composite plastic boards made from 95 percent recycled materials. NexTrex is Trex’s community challenge soft plastics recycling program. For every 1,000 pounds of soft plastics collected, Trex donates an eco-friendly outdoor bench. 

For more information on Tusten Social, visit www.tustensocial.org. 

Learn more about NexTrex at www.nextrex.com.