Locals Bring Can-do Attitude, move a mountain of recyclables at TD Animal Shelter

From Home At Last Humane Society:

The Dalles, OR – July 28, 2022. Home at Last Humane Society is excited to announce that the shelter's backlog of bottles and cans has been processed!

Thanks to a dozen community volunteers who put in nearly 25 hours of combined volunteer time this past Saturday, as well as the support of shelter staff, thousands of dollars of bottles and cans were processed. The shelter has raised around $120,000 from the bottle and can redemptions so far this year.

"We cannot stress enough how grateful we are to all the volunteers who have come out for Clear the Cans events this year," said Steve Drynan, Executive Director of Home at Last Humane Society. "We need our entire community to come together to help keep this shelter funded and provide high-quality animal management services to our region."

Volunteers moved a mountain - Thanks to a dozen community volunteers who put in nearly 25 hours of combined volunteer time this past Saturday, July 23, as well as the support of shelter staff, thousands of dollars of bottles and cans were processed.

Hey, did you pack my ball in here? Photo Courtesy Oregon Bottle Drop

Now that the cans and bottles are cleared, Home at Last is asking the community to please bring as many bottles and cans to our shelter as possible. Though it is a challenge to run a separate bottle and cans redemption center in addition to rescue, adoption, spay and neuter, and vet care operations, this funding source is absolutely essential to the shelter.

Home at Last has a goal of processing 2.5 million bottles and cans in 2022 to raise $250,000. Each full semi-truck load of sorted bottles and cans is valued at approximately $11,000.

"Our goal is to fill two or more semi-truck loads every month so we can continue to provide outstanding services and be the Gorge’s resource for animal rescue, health and adoption,” said Drynan. “Our bottles and cans donors are a significant part of making this happen.”

Another noteworthy step forward for Home at Last's bottles and cans redemption program is the indefinite donation of a shipping container from The Dalles Disposal to store unprocessed bottles and cans. Theft of bottles and cans had been a disappointing reality for the shelter. But since the donation of the secure container earlier this month, there have been zero thefts.

In addition to the labor-intensive bottles and cans operation, HAL is also working diligently to secure sustainable funding sources that allow the shelter team to focus on its core mission. A community survey offered earlier this summer showed that 89.9 percent of survey takers believe Home at Last needs to secure additional sustainable funding sources, and that the public should be contributing more support for the animal management services provided by Home at Last.

Currently, public resources provide around 5 percent of funding for operations at Home at Last. The shelter is now in discussions with Wasco County and the City of The Dalles to collaborate to find sustainable funding solutions for animal management in our community.