Initiative key to clean appearance

Recent beautification activity by Wasilla businesses is a good reminder of other efforts around the borough to keep the community sparkling.

The borough did its part recently with the annual Bumper Drag. The May event allows borough residents to get rid of junk cars and scrap metal for free. In past years, area National Guardsmen have assisted borough officials in picking up the cars. Because so many Guard troops are deployed this year, residents had to bring their own junk cars and scrap metal to the landfill.

That hardly dampened enthusiasm for the event. Last week, borough officials announced that more than 33 tons of scrap were turned in for recycling.

The Bumper Drag fell this year during national Public Works Week, but it was not the only way the week was marked. Borough employees answered the call by picking up garbage along a 2-mile stretch of the Glenn Highway and a nearby frontage road. About 1,500 pounds of trash was collected, according to Greg Goodale, the borough's solid waste manager.

As an extension of the Bumper Drag into the northern Susitna Valley, the borough is offering free dropoff of junk cars at the transfer station in Talkeetna, at Mile 12 of the Talkeetna Spur Road.

Enterprising private operators are getting in on the action, too. A pair of Wasilla residents recently launched a recyclable pickup business. For now, the twice-monthly service is available only in the core area, but it will bring a measure of convenience to recycling-minded residents and perhaps nudge nonrecyclers to consider doing so.

After making its collection rounds, Valley Recycling Pick Up makes a deposit at the Valley Community for Recycling Solutions center on the Palmer-Wasilla Highway. The center remains open for individual drop-off of recyclables, but the pickup service will allow VCRS to take better advantage of its expanded capacity to handle glass, tin, aluminum, plastic, newspaper, cardboard, ink jet cartridges and eyeglasses.

The success of VCRS is directly attributable to the conscientiousness of residents and their willingness to pitch in and recycle. Over the years, this initiative has helped VCRS grow. From its start with recycling day events held every three months in local parking lots, the nonprofit organization now has a rapidly expanding service center and regular drop-off hours four days a week.

VCRS's Web site states the organization is &#8220devoted to establishing recycling as a part of daily life in the Matanuska-Susitna Borough … (and providing) consistent and comprehensive recycling opportunities” in the community. This is a worthwhile goal all residents should appreciate.

Taken together, these efforts by individuals, businesses and community organizations show that keeping the Valley clean and presentable is a responsibility that each of us can share.