Beyond the Bin: Creative Reuse and the Future of Urban Waste
Join Tara Sansone (Executive Director, Materials for the Arts) and Noah Landow (Founder and CEO, Macktez) for an informal conversation between an expert in urban waste reduction, material reuse, and unconventional logistics and the founder of a technology consulting firm.
Every year, tons of corporate excess, TV and film set props, and construction overstock end up in landfills, even though community groups, schools, and local artists could easily put them to good use. Born from New York City’s unique opportunity to connect cultural institutions, public schools, and surplus materials at scale, MFTA operates as a public-private partnership, combining City support with the flexibility of its nonprofit partner, Friends of Materials for the Arts. The challenge isn't a lack of generosity; it's the sheer operational puzzle of moving unpredictable, un-barcoded items from donor loading docks to community spaces. Operating out of a massive 35,000+ square foot warehouse, MFTA bridges that gap through smart logistics, predictive supply-chain mapping, and software that matches massive donations directly to the people who need them.
Join us at the Macktez office, after work, over light snacks and sips, for an open conversation about what it really takes to build a circular economy in a major city. We’ll discuss how corporations can turn waste liabilities into social impact, explore the environmental metrics of keeping thousands of tons out of landfills annually, and examine how other cities can adapt this public-private reuse framework.
This event is co-sponsored by 4THBIN.
Photography, audio, and video recording may occur at this event and by attending you consent to such recording media and its release, publication, exhibition, or reproduction.
Event Structure
We ask that guests arrive between 7-7:30 pm to minimize disruption during the talk.
7 pm - Doors open, opportunity to mingle over snacks and sips with other attendees
7:30 pm - Guests take their seats for the talk
8:15 pm - Informal mixer resumes
On Attendance
We have a limited capacity. If your plans change, please update your registration so someone else can join.
A bit about Macktez, and why we host this series
Macktez is a technology consultancy collaborating with organizations going through dynamic change.
Our goal is to form a lasting partnership between our team and our clients, so we can anticipate their technology challenges and help them navigate growth, disruption, and other evolving conditions.
Each event in our Tête-à-Tech series is an opportunity to explore a specific cultural, scientific, historical, and personal issue. We fire at the synapses that connect each topic to other fields of interest and to our individual lives. And we do so in a comfortable environment to facilitate conversation that can be casual, surprising, and illuminating.
To learn more, visit us at macktez.com.