| |
18 Oct 04 - Pavitra Crimmel
** WASTE PREVENTION FORUM **
-- A project of the National Waste Prevention Coalition
--------
Forum archive: http://www.nwpcarchive.org
---------------------
From Tom Watson, King County Solid Waste Division, Seattle, WA, and the
National Waste Prevention Coalition:
I'm sending out this special edition of the Waste Prevention Forum with the
sad news that Pavitra Crimmel has died. Pavitra passed away suddenly,
following a heart attack, on Friday, October 15th at her home in Bella
Vista, California.
Pavitra was connected for many years with Garbage Reincarnation Inc. (GRI),
a grass-roots non-profit organization in Santa Rosa, California. She was
one of the co-founders of Recycletown, the comprehensive reuse and recycling
center in Sonoma County operated by GRI. At the time of her death she was
serving as a board member, consultant, and spokesperson for GRI. Pavitra
was an organizer of "Scrapture," a wild and wonderful art-from-scrap
competition sponsored by GRI. The 18th annual Scrapture art and music
festival, where the artists' creations from scrap were displayed and judged,
was held in June. Pavitra was also co-owner, with Joel Fox and Judy Smith,
of Beyond Waste, a deconstruction and reuse consulting firm in Cotati,
California.
On the GRI website this week was a notice for a workshop Pavitra was
scheduled to teach at Recycletown this Friday, Oct. 22. It was called
"Repair-A-Chair." The notice for the class read in part, "Learn how to
reupholster chairs! Do it yourself and save money while giving new life to
an old chair! Materials provided, or bring your own chair. Suggested
donation for the class $5 - $10. Pavitra taught herself upholstery in the
early days at Recycletown, because it made her so angry to see beautiful old
furniture being thrown away that no one would buy because of torn
upholstery."
That was classic Pavitra. Now, that class will never be held, and it's just
a damned shame. She was a passionate, articulate advocate of reuse and
deconstruction. She was also one of the best and funniest speakers I've
ever seen. I first heard Pavitra speak at a National Recycling Coalition
conference about 10 years ago. A couple years later, we flew her up here to
give a reuse presentation at the Washington State Recycling Association
annual conference. Her presentations inspired me. I know she will be
deeply missed, both on her home turf in northern California and throughout
the waste prevention community.
Pavitra's friends have organized a memorial gathering, which will be held at
Recycletown this Saturday, Oct. 24, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Recycletown is
located in Sonoma County, just northwest of Petaluma at the Meachem Road
Landfill. According to her friend Kevin Drew with the City of San
Francisco, "Everyone is welcome to come and celebrate Pavitra's life and the
people and work she cared so much for."
Pavitra, you proved that saving the earth can be fun. Thank you.
E-mail: tom [D O T] watson [A T] metrokc [D O T] gov
- end -
|
