Our Story
In 1990, a group of volunteer community activists interested in creative ways for a rural community to manage its own waste locally, began operating a small recycling station in a parking lot near the Manzanita fire station. They called themselves the Community Action Recycling Team of Manzanita (CART’M). Eventually, CART’M Recycling formalized its status as a non-profit organization and in 1997 received the franchise from Tillamook County to operate the Manzanita Transfer Station.
During the winter of 1998-99 CART’M Recycling constructed its first building to house a re-use store and a baler for recycling processing, financed by Tillamook County and by grants from Meyer Memorial Trust. In May of 1999, CART’M Recycling hosted the very first Trash Bash to celebrate art, reuse and community.
In 2010, the name was simplified to ‘CARTM’ (pronounced CART-um), losing the apostrophe as well as ‘Recycling’. By this time, CARTM was more than a small group of people. It was a place, a community and a philosophy. Again, with assistance from key community members CARTM rebranded, placed new emphasis on the retail store and added “artistic expression through creative reuse of materials,” to its mission.
Then, at the end of 2018, the inconceivable happened. Tillamook County Commissioners voted to end the franchise agreement under which CARTM was operating the transfer station. The organization sold all of its equipment, emptied the reuse building and vacated the property. For the next 3 years, CARTM board members met regularly and discussed options for revival of operations. The pandemic took its toll on the rural community, and finally board members faced the fact that CARTM the organization had no steam left to move on.
In the Spring of 2021, Jessi Just, former Operations Manager for CARTM, stepped forward with 5 new board members and a plan. They called themselves ‘Heart of Cartm’ and would re-open a very small version of The Refindery in a section of an old building in downtown Wheeler. In July, new board members took office and in August, the new ‘Refindery’ opened its doors.
In March 2022, Heart of Cartm rented another section of the old building right next door and turned it into a workshop space for Repair and Reuse classes.
This new space is a step toward our big vision. We see our work over the last 25+ years as a huge success, moving the focus away from landfilling, first with recycling, then with reuse and now with repair and reimagination.
We will continue to reimagine our community’s discards, as valuable resources.
YOU can help us with this vision!
Meet Our Team
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Jessi Just
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Jessi Just grew up helping to renovate the family farmhouse in the Missouri Ozarks and digging for old bottles in the backyard. As a graduate of Natural Resources at the University of Missouri - Columbia, she studied trash on the Missouri River and organized teams of volunteers to help clean it up. Jessi became the outreach specialist for Cartm Recycling in 2005, which ignited a passionate career in sustainable materials management.
Her desire to reimagine waste has led to exciting responsibilities, including: living and working on a Mississippi River trash barge, organizing trash fashion shows across the country, providing reuse and recycling consultation for the states of Iowa and New Mexico, implementing a state-wide hub and spoke recycling system in New Mexico, and now rebuilding the organization.
As Heart of Cartm Executive Director, Jessi Just will enthusiastically lead our community to zero waste.
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Kim Koch
BOARD CHAIR
Kim has lived in the tri-village area for 20 years where she runs a successful remodel and vacation rental management company with her husband Brien.
Over the years, Kim has always known CARTM to be an important touchstone. From working at the facility, hanging trash art shows and helping to remodel the main building, Kim always felt that CARTM was much more than a recycling facility. She understood that is was a place for our diverse community to meet and create, exchange news and ideas and of course exchange stuff!! CARTM brought everyone together for the good of the community and when CARTM closed she knew we lost something vital.
Kim is proud to be a part of the new Heart of Cartm board and is committed to the re- imagination and resurrection of this most important community institution.
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Justin Weiss
BOARD TREASURER
Justin Weiss is a human, who above all else, loves to play in the dirt. He spent his formative and academic years interested in learning anything and everything about the natural sciences; diving in both inside, and outside, the classroom. He possesses a bachelor's degree from the University of Arizona in Environmental Studies, and completed his Master’s Thesis at San Jose State University, focused on sustainable waste management and extended producer responsibility (EPR) policies.
Justin relocated to the Oregon coast in January, 2021, to start a career with the Tillamook County Solid Waste Department; he is currently a Supervisor at the Manzanita transfer station. Being a long time advocate for initiatives which strive to promote sustainability and the arts, he was more than excited to join the new CARTM Board. Justin looks forward to continuing to work/live in the TIllamook County coastal community, striving to support the mission and energy that CARTM possesses.
FAQs
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CARTM was always associated with a place, however that place is actually the Manzanita Transfer Station and is owned by Tillamook County. The non-profit organization CARTM had, until recently, an agreement with the county to operate the transfer station. It may take some time for folks to get used to calling the place where trash and recycling go by another name - MTS or the transfer station - any of those will work, but it is not CARTM. CARTM, the organization is now doing business as “The Heart of Cartm.” We have changed our daily operations significantly, but our heart is… the trash art, the creativity, the resourceful people of our community. Transformation is a natural part of life, and we urge you to embrace this most amazing of transformations.
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We are! You, me, us.
CARTM began as an acronym for Conservation Action Resource Team of Manzanita. It became a legend, a place, and a great transformation story. Check out the History of CARTM video on our YouTube Channel.
At the Heart of Cartm, we embrace transformation and creative expression. We inspire each other and teach each other. We work together to keep resources in circulation as long as possible. We teach each other and tell stories. We believe that sustainable communities balance the needs of the economy, the people and the environment.
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We are happy to accept your clean and reusable donations on Thursdays and Fridays, Noon - 3pm or by appointment. Please visit our support page for a guide on material donations for Heart of Cartm. Thank you!