CAN DO PROGRAM

With the help of Corcoran Environmental Services, local Kennebunk resident Tom Couming started a bottle redemption program at the Kennebunk Recycling Center and Transfer Station on Sea Road in 2007—raising only $28 for the needy. By June of 2009, the amount of money generated by the program was $1,400. The program, called the CAN DO Program, raises money for local charities by allowing residents to drop their returnables at the Recycling Center, where volunteers sort them and make sure they get to a redemption center. Seventy-five percent of the money is donated to the York County Shelter Program in Alfred, and the other 25 percent goes to the Kennebunk Food Pantry, which is supported by local churches under the Community Outreach Program.

Couming started the program in the fall of 2007, when discussions with Corcoran Environmental Services, the company that manages Kennebunk's recycling program, revealed that money could be recovered from the large number of bottles that nobody was bothering to redeem. Corcoran was looking to do something with the returnables and felt like there was a need in town with the shelter program. Even with the uncertain economy prompting people to look for additional sources of money, the program has grown steadily through the years, raising over $30,000 since its inception.

Every Wednesday and Saturday, a small group of volunteers shows up at the Recycling Center to sort the returnables into categories — cans, plastics, and different types of glass — so that they can be redeemed for money. CAN DO is always looking for more volunteers and tanyone interested can contact Tom Couming at 985-0069. The program also needs people to continue donating their returnables to the program by dropping them off at the Recycling Center, which they can do anytime from Tuesday through Saturday. We are all very grateful to live in this community because people are willing to help those in need.