BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. — A Brevard County nonprofit that helps the environment by helping people recycle easier is about to lose the space where all the work is done after six years at the location.

Recycle Brevard, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, is a group working on innovative ways to expand recycling and cut down on the dependence of landfills. However, the nonprofit found out in January that the previous owners of the building at 1535 Cogswell St., Unit C-15, in Rockledge, decided to sell. 

Marcia Booth, who founded Recycle Brevard in 2017, said they were told they have to be out by the end of April. She said she had to sign papers so the new owners would be the ones with Recycle Brevard's lease contract.

Currently, they have no place to go. Booth said they have reached out to community partners like Brevard County school board and LEAD Brevard to find a place to mostly store and separate materials and recyclables. 

“If we can find a place where we can have storage, and a place to separate and receive the items, that would be great,” she said. She added that Recycle Brevard has been in its Rockledge location since 2017.

In addition to needing a new space, Recycle Brevard is also developing 10 drop-off sites across the county. She said having a place where the public can drop off materials would be an added bonus. Right now, the nonprofit counts on volunteers to pickup from drop off locations and bring materials to Recycle Brevard.

How it all started

Booth shares the tale of how Recycle Brevard got started. She said one day her young daughter saw a garbage truck and asked where all that trash goes.

That prompted a field trip to the landfill and sparked her passion to help bolster local recycling efforts.

“We created an option for people to drop off materials that can’t go in the recycle bin at home, so maybe we can reuse it,” Booth said.

Continuing to care about the environment

Lucile Caubet moved to the Space Coast from France within the past year. She’s always been one to care about the environment.

She heard about Recycle Brevard, a group working on innovative ways to expand recycling and cut down on the dependence of landfills.

Her volunteer work falls right in line with her belief that we should all chip in to protect our planet.

“I think we have to be sensitive to the Earth, and recycling is something that helps to not destroy the Earth,” she said.

Locals have easy access to recycling cans, bottles, paper and cardboard.

Part of their free services is taking in hard-to-recycle items like:

• electronics (no printers, monitors or TVs)
• metal (household items like metal pans, cooking sheets, small garage items left over from projects)
• toothbrushes and toothpaste tubes
• empty dental floss containers
• disposable razors and packaging
• blister packs, plastic scoops and desiccants
• dead markers, mechanical pencils and pens
• emply glue sticks
• brita filters, pitchers and bottles along with their packaging
• old plastic food storage containers like tupperware

It is something many people don’t know about.

“This is why we need to be more proactive in the communication because this is something that we all have,” Caubet said.