By John E. Weare, Keep Alliance Beautiful
“I’m All In” speaks of commitment to a particular cause, such a total devotion to Christ in TobyMac’s song “All In” off his 2007 Portable Sounds album. In recent days, while pondering this week’s topic, I thought of the phrase in regard to recycling.
Keep Alliance Beautiful serves the community in large part by offering recycling services. A stated goal is to increase annual volumes and decrease the tonnage of trash finding its way to local landfills. This is accomplished through encouraging established patrons to recycle more while recruiting new residents, organizations and businesses to take advantage of our services.
As to the former group, how many are “all in”? Do they recycle everything KAB accepts while finding outlets for other materials while reducing and reusing whenever possible?
I know my household’s practices are not zero waste though being “all in” is the goal. That status is also difficult to quantify while emptying trailers and sorting curbside bags. This house put out two full sacks and a bunch of cardboard but where were their usual collection of tin cans? It turns out that batch supplied a Cub Scout windchime craft. We are not in the habit of quizzing people who drop off boxes and bags at our front door either. Rather, my emphasis is letting people know what we do accept to encourage growth and, consequently, increased volume.
Businesses, municipalities and other entities are another story. We build partnerships to best serve their needs, knowing there is potential for additional recycling. That fact is most often discussed when a business requests a container (used IBC tote). Though cardboard is the prevalent material we make sure everyone knows that glass, plastic, aluminum and tin, for example, can also be bagged and placed in the container or trailer. Almost without exception owners/managers and staff are responsible and call if we have not visited a location before it overflows. This free service was rescinded at a couple locations recently that repeatedly left material outside/overfilled their trailer/totes.
Unfortunately these are instances where cooperation is lacking and instead of “all in” everything finds its way back to the garbage truck. KAB greatly appreciates monetary support from the City of Alliance and Box Butte County and in-kind consideration from the Village of Hemingford and Box Butte General Hospital – both transport trailers. Also, the hospital maintains its own trailer and the Village supplies space to park our trailers and totes on a downtown lot.
A goal this year is to better coordinate with two of our largest partners: the City of Alliance and Alliance Public Schools.
While other City departments may bring their own materials to the trailers, we most often pick up recycling at the Electric Department and Knight Museum and Sandhills Center and electronics from the Municipal Building. I have spoken with Museum Director Becci Thomas about a presentation for department heads/employees to encourage more widespread recycling although it has been a challenge to make it a reality. Group presentation or individual meetings, the goal will be to communicate what KAB offers and learn if any other departments are interested.
Alliance Public Schools, as well as other schools in the county, have been long-term recyclers. However, Emma, our education coordinator, is in the process of arranging meetings with their respective principals to gauge current recycling and promote the practice wherever possible from the classroom level on up. Sometimes “all in” has not been practical, such as in an elementary school cafeteria. Students tried to sort plastic cutlery, used milk cartons and other appropriate items, yet after a few tries it became obvious that not enough food residue and unintended trash could be diverted.
KAB appreciates all our recyclers. As a belated New Year’s resolution, find something new to bring us. We take the “usual” — cardboard, paperboard, mixed paper (office paper, junk mail, newspaper magazines), tin and steel cans, aluminum cans, milk jugs, No. 1-7 plastics, glass jars and bottles, and electronics. We also accept lick tubs, (clean) grain totes and bags, fluorescent tubes and CFLs, and pliable plastic and Styrofoam for the Hefty Renew program. For information, call the office at 308-762-1729.