why Cleenland will be closed September 20th: Global Climate Strike

On my high school senior yearbook page (lol), I included the well-trodden Albert Einstein quote, “We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them.” 10+ years of existential angst later, Cleenland is open. I’ve learned different thinking is fantastic, but mostly when it leads to different action because that’s what creates change. What is “the way things are done” other than a series of actions done by enough people that everyone else thinks it’s “normal”? 

Our community is doing something differently now: refilling our containers with the products we all need and want. In three short months, we’ve already refilled 1,295 containers. So. So. So. Awesome. Damn. And in addition to the tangible impact of keeping these containers out of the waste stream, your visits to Cleenland are shifting the Overton window, the range of what’s socially acceptable, around single-use containers and how we use our resources. Your visits, your actions, change “the way things are done.”

We are one small piece of the puzzle, helping to mitigate the multiple ecological breakdowns we face. Larger-scale changes are needed to truly confront these crises. So it follows that we need larger-scale actions to create the magnitude of change required. I see Cleenland closing in solidarity with the youth leading the Global Climate Strike on September 20th as an extension of the work our community is already doing. You can read more about the Global Climate Strike here and find details for the Boston Strike here. Would so love for you to join us.

Whether you can make it to the strike or not, we’ll be back at Cleenland September 21st ready to refill and chat. I look forward to seeing you :)