By John E. Weare, Keep Alliance Beautiful
Arbor Day was this past Friday. By weight, most of what we handle at the Keep Alliance Beautiful Recycling Center started as a tree. Oh, it may have been sustainably harvested from the forests of Washington or pine trees farmed in the southeast or even pulp of recycled white bales stacked on an Omaha loading dock. Yet, without trees how would you receive all those smiley faced logo packages?
Trees are best enjoyed prior to consumer transformation. Sure, solid wood tables and chairs beat standing to eat in the kitchen or dining room. And I only read one novel on a screen before reverting to the familiar feel of a paperback in my hands. However, working at KAB means knowing what to do with items formerly known as trees. The ink on this sheet was personal enough it needs to meet the metal teeth of Fritz (our shredder is German). Too much oil on this box. That one is so wet it lost its shape. Both die in the trash can.
Last week, G.O. was the bearer of good news. Western Resources Group in Ogallala said we could combine corrugated cardboard and fiberboard, which we also refer to simply as fiber. Also (wait for it) all the paper can now be dumped in the same containers to send out. Magazines, newspapers, phonebooks, construction paper, junk mail – all in one place without sorting! The only exception is we still must remove hardcovers and split thick books to more manageable sizes.
For at least the past three or four directors, KAB has been fighting a losing battle to educate the public on the difference between corrugated and fiber. Our big, green cardboard trailer always yielded at least a 4x4x4-foot box of fiber when emptied. For years, corrugated cardboard brought a higher price (compared to no money at all in recent years for fiber), so it was worth our time to separate the two. In contrast, paper sorting has been in flux to an extent.
Our update also means that our dedicated recyclers who always presort paper and cardboard will have a bit more free time. To everyone else who did not care to keep up-to-date on how KAB prefers its paper or the definition of corrugated, we have appreciated your recycling commitment as well – you just do not have the same bonus to look forward to as you head to the curb, trailers or recycling center.
Clean and dry still applies. We continue to accept cardboard as designated at our trailers in Alliance and Hemingford. Large loads are welcome at our front (south) door anytime 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday.