In answer to RiverWise at Boston MFA -
 
Many museums have grappled with the problem of disposing of crates they do
not want.  It is a fact that it is more expensive to store crates  until
they might be used (which could be heaven knows when) than it is to build
new ones.
 
At the DIA we adhere to new standards that have arisen out of the Art in
Transit Symposium a few years back.  Any crates we reuse for outgoing loans
must be built and packable, according to those standards.  We have
basically cleaned house of all "bad" crates, and now save only "good"
crates for reuse.  Still we have a large inventory on hand.
 
We have tried giving excess crates to artists who teach and study at two or
three local art departments/schools.  But when the appointed day comes,
either no one shows up or they come unprepared and the amount of staff time
(and loading dock space) tied up to help people has proven unreasonable.
 
I went to the museum recycling session on the last day at the most recent
AAM meeting in hopes that someone, somewhere, had some good advice on
recycling crates and what I got was zip......    Does anyone out there have
any good ideas?  If not we are all wasting an awful lot of wood.
 
Suzanne Quigley
Detroit Institute of Arts
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