Building Local Power

In this episode of Building Local Power, host Jess Del Fiacco and Neil Seldman, Director of ILSR's Waste to Wealth initiative are joined by several guests who are involved in the canning community. Canners, also called waste pickers or scrappers, collect recyclable materials such as cans and bottles from the streets and redeem them at recycling centers. The guests are Christine Hegel and Jessica Yauri of Sure We Can, a nonprofit recycling center in New York City, and Taylor Cass Talbott and Kris Brown of Ground Score Association, a ‘peer-led’ initiative in Portland, Oregon, organized by and for workers who identify as canners.

What is Building Local Power?

Building Local Power brings you thought-provoking stories and new ideas for breaking the hold of corporate monopolies and expanding the power of communities to chart their own futures. We deliver insights from trailblazing lawmakers, scholars, business leaders, and advocates. Plus, conversations with in-house experts at the Institute for Local Self-Reliance help reveal the patterns and policies that shape our economy and communities. These stories and conversations help map solutions that distribute power to everyday people.

Our newest series, The Data Centers Are Coming, brings listeners into the stories of local communities fighting back against Big Tech, corporate greed, bureaucratic secrecy, and a system that prioritizes scale at all costs.