By JOHN E. WEARE
KAB
Summer means a little more time on your hands. Well, at least on “heat schedule” days at the Keep Alliance Beautiful Recycling Center. The mercury crept above 90 degrees so we clocked out at 1 p.m. today. The heat coincides with the end of the second quarter and time to review recycling volumes for the first half of 2025. Total numbers still edge where we were a year ago – 461,668 pounds versus 454,725, in the quest for a million pounds within the confines of a calendar.
Hitting a lofty goal is admirable though I am always happy to see an upward trend. The first quarter of 2025 (258,640) was slightly ahead of a million-pound pace. The average with two quarters in the books is nearly 10 tons behind. In fact, only two categories were higher than 2024: cardboard and automobile parts. Robust cardboard deposits continue to fill the three trailers along Second Street in Alliance and at least two trailers per week from Chadron. A pair of balers tasked with the job squeezed another 16 tons – 299,956 to 267,914 pounds respectively, this year versus last. Car parts from Todd’s Body and Frame shop accounted for 540 pounds whereas his 702 pounds of parts last year did not arrive until the fourth quarter.
Coincidently, contemplating the other categories, Dixie and I thought there had been fewer aluminum cans lately. Prices around 60 cents or better seem enough motivation to save cans for money again. During the first half of 2024 as the market began to warm up, as I recall, we baled 6,281 pounds while this year the amount is down nearly a third at 4,860 pounds.
Milk jugs in 2024 left the building in one load before June 30th. Now Spud takes them on demand, which, in large part, accounts for 3,221 pounds now and 11,120 then.
Other materials have been comparable 2024/2025: #1-7 plastics 19,962/18,307; steel/tin cans 12,244/11,226; mixed paper (including magazines/books) 70,388/68,528; and, Hefty bags 9,486/8,714. Electronics, 11,827/8,927, and glass, 39,292/33,138, were a bit farther apart. Also, we mailed 93 pounds of ink cartridges via UPS and sent 4,158 pounds of “other” recyclables with Spud, our hauler, to become something else useful down the line.
Now on the downward slide, I am sure our patrons are up to besting the 915,284 pounds recycled by midnight Dec. 31, 2024. One aspect in particular where I think local recyclers can gain ground is contamination. A new sorter found his first dirty diapers this past week. A rite of passage unfortunately. Save the trash for the landfill of your choice, please. We strive to pass along clean, dry items on our list. The weight of what was thrown away in the non-cardboard categories would have easily added another ton over three months.
Questions? Call the shop phone, 308-763-1410, or stop by 107 ½ Cheyenne. We’ll show you around if you have a few minutes. Bored and/or curious about what's in the big black bags? No problem, sort as many as you want. Thanks for keeping Alliance beautiful!