Earlham College joining local efforts to bring smarter recycling to region

When local entrepreneur Penny Ausmus first dreamed of creating a regional hub for recycling and reuse in Richmond, she knew she wanted it to be more than a drop-off site. Her vision was to build a community resource — one that would educate, inspire, and empower residents to think differently about what they throw away. 

“We’re missing a lot of education about recycling,” Ausmus said. “A lot of recycling programs are prone to abuse. People say it’s too hard or they don’t have the room to sort recyclable materials the right way. I’m trying to find ways to deal with that — to educate people and to help them get used to recycling as part of their everyday life.” 

Last year, Ausmus opened the East Central Indiana Recycling and Reuse Hub, the first-of-its-kind nonprofit recycling and reuse center in Wayne County, Indiana. As part of a new partnership with Earlham College, Ausmus’ vision is gaining momentum — and statewide recognition — for its innovative, community-based approach. 

In partnership with Doug Harms, instructor of computer science, and Gaby Chacón, career advisor in the Center for Career Education, Ausmus joined Earlham’s effort to pitch an idea in Community-Engaged Alliance’s Idea to Action Incubator Pitch Competition. The team’s proposal for a mobile education and collection unit earned the $5,000 grand prize earlier this fall. 

“Working with Earlham was easy,” Ausmus said. “We meshed right off the bat. After a couple of meetings together we landed on this idea for a mobile trailer. I realized this could be a successful project. It was a eureka moment.” 

A partnership rooted in shared purpose 

The collaboration spans multiple areas of the Earlham campus. The College’s membership in Community-Engaged Alliance (CEA) — a statewide organization dedicated to fostering civic-minded graduates and cross-sector collaboration — is an initiative of Earlham’s Center for Social Justice (CSJ) and helps make partnerships like this possible. 

Faculty members like Harms and Chacón joined Ausmus as thought partners and strategists, helping refine her ideas and build capacity for growth. Gene Hambrick, senior executive director of the Center for Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Creativity (CEIC), has also provided guidance on organizational development and long-term planning. 

“We quickly identified the need to expand RE Hub’s collection services to all of Wayne County, which is how we ended up with the mobile recycling trailer idea,” said Chacón, who took the lead on developing the presentation that was used in the Community-Engaged Alliance competition. 

“I’ve been living in Richmond for 10 years now and recycling has always been a bit of a challenge because the city only collects certain types of materials,” Chacón said. “The RE Hub collects a lot more than the city, even little things like those silica gel packets or plastic cutlery, things that usually end up sitting in my kitchen cabinets for the longest time, or the trash because I didn’t know where else to take them.”  

The partnership reflects Earlham’s commitment to community-based learning and social impact. The CSJ and CEIC helps equip students for lifelong engagement on social justice issues, social entrepreneurship, and community engagement initiatives that build skills and knowledge across disciplines, both in and out of the classroom.  

 “Penny is really ambitious and passionate about this work,” said Aidan Carter, assistant director of Earlham’s Center for Social Justice. “We want to send her students who are interested in working with non-profits and looking to join in her mission of reducing waste in the community. That’s what the Center for Social Justice is all about — empowering students to engage deeply with local partners and make a tangible difference.” 

Winning support — and expanding impact 

“Our goal is to reduce what goes to the landfill by determining the best path to send it. When you start to throw something in the trash, ask yourself two questions: one, can it be reused? Two, does it have more life in it? If it isn’t on the curbside recycling list and you answered yes, bring it to us. We just might know what to do with it.”

— Penny Ausmus, owner and founder of the East Central Indiana Recycling and Reuse Hub

The recognition from CEA will help the RE Hub continue its forward momentum, which has already acquired 10,000 square feet of warehousing space in Richmond’s Depot District, with plans to expand further in 2026.  

Located at 262 Fort Wayne Avenue, the RE Hub is open Thursdays from 1–6 p.m. and Saturdays from 10 a.m.–2 p.m., depending on donations and volunteers. Inside, the space features distinct areas for recycling, reuse, and repurposing, as well as the Bottle Cap to Bench program, which turns collected plastic caps into colorful outdoor benches. 

“Our goal is to reduce what goes to the landfill by determining the best path to send it,” Ausmus said. “When you start to throw something in the trash, ask yourself two questions: one, can it be reused? Two, does it have more life in it? If it isn’t on the curbside recycling list and you answered yes, bring it to us. We just might know what to do with it.” 
 

The mobile RE Hub will extend the nonprofit’s reach throughout the region, allowing residents to recycle items and learn about sustainable waste practices close to home. 

A model for student learning and civic engagement 

For Earlham, the collaboration is also a model for how campus-community partnerships can enhance learning while addressing real-world challenges. Students will have opportunities to work with the RE Hub through internships and class projects — from developing marketing materials and data tracking systems to helping design and, potentially, build the trailer. 

In addition to the East Central Indiana RE Hub, the CSJ is also supporting the Black Legacy Project of Wayne County, which also earned recognition at the Idea to Action competition earlier this year. That team — Lauressa Bradshaw, vice president of the Black Legacy Project, and Kimberly Nakiyingi, a junior peace and global studies major at Earlham — took second place and is continuing its work of enhancing education programs in Richmond and Wayne County on local Black history. 

***

About Community-Engaged Alliance 

As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, Community-Engaged Alliance is dedicated to advancing the field of community engagement through education, support, and collaboration with their members and additional partners in higher education. Through funding, professional development, and collaboration opportunities, Community-Engaged Alliance supports capacity and enables students to graduate with the knowledge and skills necessary to create positive social change. Visit www.communityengagedalliance.org for more information. 
 

About Earlham College 

Earlham College and Earlham School of Religion foster a collaborative learning community that inspires and motivates students with transformative opportunities and experiences so they can become catalysts for good in a changing world. Located in Richmond, Indiana, Earlham is one of U.S. News & World Report’s Top 100 national liberal arts colleges and offers one of the top 20 classroom experiences in the nation, according to the Princeton Review.