A law firm in downtown Jacksonville is taking it upon itself to bring recycling to Hemming Park.
Attorneys at Johnson and Lufrano hope to inspire other local businesses to expand recycling throughout downtown.
On Tuesday afternoon, live guitar music pervaded the air at Hemming Park. The scene is quite a turnaround from a few years ago, thanks to the nonprofit Friends of Hemming Park. But that doesn’t mean the park is perfect.
Attorney Matt Lufrano says one day while he and his law partner were enjoying the park’s Thursday beer garden, they noticed there wasn’t a single place to properly dispose of their cans.
So they called up the Friends of Hemming Park and pledged more than $12,000 to solve that problem.
A quick glance a trash can Tuesday showed an overflow of recyclable cans and bottles.
“We paid for the placement and then ultimately the recycling, the pickup of recycling bins,” Lufrano says. “There will be four in the park, and you’ll be able to move them around.”
The law firm’s donation will cover the recycling service for a year. Lufrano is hoping other businesses will pick up where his left off and sponsor recycling where the city doesn’t: all of the Urban Core.
“It’s to try to build some awareness, get some momentum behind it because it’s really not something that’s too difficult,” he says.
Bins should be in Hemming Park early next year.
