By JOHN E. WEARE
KAB
Conference themes run the gamut no matter the organization or occasion. The sign challenged Keep Nebraska Beautiful affiliates to “Rethink Your Waste” every time we entered the meeting room for the annual conference in Lincoln June 4-6. Though nobody ever spoke the phrase at any of our sessions, tours or social time (not that I heard anyway) it has become the lens that I review the three days through.
As I review the agenda, everything on the page has something to do directly (and in a few cases indirectly) with preventing current waste/litter or mitigating the potential for materials that would otherwise pollute or at a minimum take up space for years.
Jeri Irby, southeast director and interim western director, opened the conference at noon Tuesday with the Keep America Beautiful update, including mention of the Greatest American Cleanup spring/summer campaign.
Kent Holm unpacked battery recycling legislation and offered updates on how the process will work.
Jana Hughes, District 24 Nebraska state senator, returned after speaking at the 2024 KNB conference in Omaha. The lawmaker also addressed battery recycling legislation and other highlights of the Unicameral’s session that had ended the day before.
Wednesday began with “First Star Recycling: Updates & Opportunities” from Patrick Leahy, who took over as CEO of the Omaha-based company two years ago. While the latest on the Hefty ReNew Program (which I have referred to as the orange bag program in the past) was of interest, his news on a $200,000 grant to start recycling in rural communities spurred lively conversation.
After lunch, Morgan and Madeline, faculty members from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln described strides at the university in recent years in the area of sustainability, which we viewed first-hand on a walking tour of the nearby campus.
Kimberly Carroll Steward from the Nebraska Recycling Council gave an update on the organization and shared practical and easily applicable information about backyard composting to finish up our instructional day.
Wednesday night most of us boarded a bus for “An Evening with KNB” at the James Arthur Vineyard near Raymond. That fundraising event, evening social/dinner the night before and affiliate working sessions throughout the conference fueled a sense of common purpose and comradery that is not always as easy to see over Zoom meetings and other interactions during the year.
Finally, we toured American Steed/RecycleMax, Inc. in Lincoln before everyone went their separate ways. The electronics recyclers were amazing in how they process components and offer a service free of cost.
Keep Alliance Beautiful and the rest of our fellow affiliates throughout the state are first and foremost committed to the communities we serve every day. However, I am optimistic we will continue to reach out and cooperate to make Nebraska a cleaner, greener place to live “The Good Life.”