Recycling, Alaska State Fair style

PALMER -- Fairgoers will be faced with a choice at this year's fair -- toss your aluminum, glass or plastic beverage container into the pile headed to the landfill or give it new life by tossing it in a recycling bin at the fair.

Six people met at the Alaska State Fair office last week to solidify plans and make final decisions as the fair start date nears. Representatives of Green Star Inc. and Valley Community for Recycling Solutions have been working with vendor and exhibits manager for the Alaska State Fair Pamella Troutman for more than a year to get the fair recycling venture off the ground.

"The fair has tried for a number of years to do it, but it was too overwhelming," Troutman said.

Troutman said the main focus has less to do with picking up the garbage and more to do with educating people that they have options when it comes to responsible waste management.

"For me, it's the PR," Troutman said. "I want people to know that they can do it. It's not the picking up the garbage -- anybody can pick up garbage. It's doing it right."

Last year, Troutman approached Green Star program coordinator Jeanne Carlson and agreed that a waste assessment should be completed during the 2001 fair to see where recycling could fit in.

According to the results of the study, approximately 30.5 tons of recyclable beverage containers are used during the fair. This year, Green Star, VCRS and the nearly 600 volunteers who have committed to four-hour shifts throughout the fair are hoping to recover half that tonnage for recycling.

"I don't even think most fairgoers know the volume of garbage at the fair," said Mollie Boyer, executive director at VCRS.

Although half is a good goal, Boyer said their desire to simply be on hand really takes precedence.

"Right now, the goal for this year is to be here doing it," Boyer said, "and to get a goal in place and be here for the long term."

So, in an effort to make more people conscious of where their garbage goes, as well as ridding the local landfill of unnecessary waste, 100 recycling bins will be placed around the main pathways at the fair. Six recycling kiosks, with separate containers for aluminum, glass and plastic bottles will be placed throughout what fair organizers call the Core Area -- where the majority of booths are gathered, adjacent to the carnival's midway.

Volunteers will steer a cart along the fair pathways, emptying recycling containers as they fill. When the cart is full, they will return to a sorting tent that will be located near the woodlot set up for the lumberjack show. Since most of the trash cans will be receptacles for glass, plastic and aluminum cans, the debris must be further sorted and readied for recycling.

And organizers are almost ready. But a few more volunteers are needed for four-hour shifts and sponsors are needed to provide refreshments for the volunteers. Organizers are hoping the final details will be tacked down by this week.

Anyone interested in volunteering can contact Boyer at 357-4765 or Carlson at (907) 278-7839.