Recycling efforts stepped up in Valley

MAT-SU -- Recyclers who have, for the past year, faithfully set aside a Saturday each month to unload their washed and sorted recyclables at Valley Community for Recycling Solutions' One-Stop recycling events can breathe a sigh of relief. By the end of the year, VCRS plans to have its "almost permanent" site ready for once-a-week drop-offs.

"We're going to be so happy," said Teslin Phillips with VCRS. "We're trying to get this running so we can do it every Saturday by the end of December this year."

VCRS, a non-profit geared toward recycling and educating people about the benefits of recycling, has signed a lease on a piece of property at the corner of the Palmer-Wasilla Highway and 49th State Street. The property, formerly used by a steel retailer, will act as the group's headquarters and as a weekly recycling station. And, for the first time in VCRS' history, they'll have to make monthly lease payments.

"For the first time in the history of our non-profit, we've just taken on a big chunk of money," Phillips said. The $1,000-a-month lease may seem daunting, but organizers are hoping the highway frontage will afford them an added shot in the arm -- daily exposure to thousands of people driving the busy highway daily.

"I think it's a huge plus," Phillips said. "People still don't know you can recycle here in the Valley."

Thanks to the donation of an ATCO building by Palmer-based Arctic Structures, VCRS' headquarters will be moving from the current Wasilla location.

Their new location is less than a mile from the site VCRS is developing into a permanent facility, and presents some challenges organizers have not previously had to deal with. What, for example, happens when people drop their goods off on a Tuesday?

The group hopes to temporarily fence the property, to prevent it from becoming a catch-all rubbish pile during the week. And, Phillips said, one of the benefits of the new interim site is that their recycling bins can be taken inside and stored on the off days of the week.

"We can store the bins inside the building … until we have enough material to ship into Anchorage," Phillips said. "It's going to look a lot like the One-Stops look."

The weekly set-up will mean a reorganization of how volunteers man the recycling events, Phillips said. Presently, several groups volunteer, each sponsoring one material at the One-Stop events. Friends of Mat-Su, for example, regularly mans the newspaper recycling event. Phillips said Thursday she and Mollie Boyer, VCRS' director, would be asking volunteers at the last One-Stop event if they could be part of a rotating volunteer schedule. The goal, she said, is to have volunteers work just once a month. Having recycling opportunities more often, Phillips said, should mean traffic to the new facility isn't as overwhelming.

And since the recycling events will be held at a more permanent facility -- not one that is typically used for other purposes -- Phillips said the group may consider holding recycling events more than one day a week. Those decisions will be made in the future, however, after the kinks have been worked out with VCRS' new once-a-week plan.

The added presence of recycling in the Valley is both a boon and a test for the small non-profit. The monthly lease will mean a more rapid adherence to their nearly complete business plan, a plan the VCRS board has been working on for the past year. In addition to providing a set of goals for the group, having a business plan is one of the basic components that go along with requests for funding, Phillips said.

"If anybody like a foundation is looking at our recycling center, the first thing they want to see is a business plan," Phillips said. "I think that will be one way we can tap into larger amounts of funds."

The added funds will be needed in order for the group to complete work on their new facility by 2004. Phillips said donation requests will be sent out to members, and other avenues of funding will be pursued.

"The time is now," Phillips said.

In the meantime, they'll continue to make use of the skills of volunteers. Throughout the process of securing and clearing the permanent recycling site, Phillips said, helping hands have been plentiful and welcomed.

"We do get a lot of in-kind donations," Phillips said. "That's the amazing thing about the Valley -- people just keep coming forward and doing the work for us."

The new site may be beneficial in other ways as well, Phillips said. Instead of shipping goods such as cardboard to Anchorage for resale loose in containers, the material will be baled, which increases its value. The group is looking at taking in metals as well, and like larger recycling groups, will be paying recyclers for their aluminum and other metals. They're hoping to begin developing contracts with area businesses, hauling away their recyclable white paper, newsprint, cardboard and other items. They're negotiating with Polar Supply, an Anchorage company that uses recycled glass for sandblasting, to set up a contract to take glass drop-offs. The end goal, Phillips said, is to have the recycled material be used by Alaska businesses to create new products -- and institute a nearly self-sustaining cycle.

"One of the things we've always permeated and advocated for is closing the loop in Alaska," Phillips said.

For more information about the new recycling schedule, contact the VCRS hotline at 352-4765.