Thanks for supporting Mid Valley Recycling

After five years of not leaving this state for any reason, I just got back from a trip to Oregon and Washington visiting friends and relatives. It was a marathon trip and included several bus rides to accommodate everyone’s schedules.

I saw my older brother and three sets of friends in Washington, then my younger brother and his wife, my nephew, my niece and their families in Oregon. Although the Pacific Northwest still has frosts occasionally, it was like spring to me. I enjoyed seeing an urban wildlife heritage garden. I got to turn my brother’s garden plot and play in his compost pile. In one location, I was serenaded awake by birds and frogs we don’t see here. I took many a fine walk and got to hear my young grandniece and grandnephew read.

Through all of these experiences, I kept my eyes open to compare the recycling efforts in the Pacific Northwest with our own here in the Valley. I’m happy to report that we are keeping up. Most of the folks I visited had a recycling bin for curbside pickup of the basics: aluminum, plastic, cardboard, other dry paper items and glass. The companies that provided the pickup did not require people to separate their recyclables by types. All was co-mingled, sorted later and used locally (not the kind of options we currently have in Alaska). Composting was an individual option as there was no curbside pickup (as there is in San Francisco) for an area-wide composting project. Of course, in Oregon the bottle deposit system keeps trashcans and roadsides free of returnable (for cash) aluminum cans and plastic bottles. That’s something I wish we had here.

Seattle International Airport is an example for all airports. Where there were trash receptacles there were also eye-catching bins for various recyclable items. It was a real disappointment not to see that same option at Ted Stevens International Airport.

Of course, it’s always great to get home after a trip. The weather was comparatively warm for an Alaska March. I felt a hint of springtime in Alaska! I also came home with a sense of thankfulness for the opportunity to have lived most of my adult life in this state and for the Alaska community’s growing commitment to recycling and returning to Earth our useable organics. Of course, we could not afford to recycle at all here if we did not separate our recyclables before they go to Valley Community for Recycling Solutions in Palmer, especially since most of our recyclables must travel south to be reused. It is my (and Robert Schwartz’s) hope that before I die I’ll see a lot of our recyclables used right here in Alaska.

I was also thankful to all those who made our beginnings in local recycling possible. Each resident who recycles and returns to Earth organics is to be commended for that effort. Of course, VCRS has set the standard for us and has found markets for lots of items that would otherwise be tossed to the trash and lost to reuse.

Molly, Carole and the rest of the crew and board of directors for VCRS make it happen for the rest of us. The Big Lake Community Council gave us a small grant to start our Big Lake transfer site recycling program. Borough officials provided us with space for both composting and recycling. Mike and Denise at the transfer site are very supportive. Lots of volunteers have kept that program going almost a year now.

So let me thank Jo and Ken Walch, Yvonne Ruth, Ralph and Claudia Buzard, Robert Hall, Don and Tresa Stevens, Yvonne Lindblom, Matt Perry, Susan L. Brock, Tim Swezey, Terry Boyle, Patti Fisher, Jim Hutton, Karen Wichert, Cathy Cross and Marty Metiva for meeting together, volunteering to sort recyclables and to haul them to VCRS. Fran, Mary Jo and the rest of the volunteers from Willow have their own recycling schedule, which is listed on our website. The Mason’s Order of the Amaranth charity (most of that work is done by Alice Ackerman and Dennis Alvord) collects aluminum cans as well as other non-ferrous metals, except tin, at the Big Lake transfer site and the East Lake Mall. Metals are sold in Anchorage to help fund diabetes research. Thanks to Sean of Raven Refuse for his flexibility with his trailer.

All of these efforts take a commitment of time (in some cases, weekly) and money that would otherwise make our recycling and composting impossible.

Because of these folks, we can separate our trash for reuse without a drive to Palmer. Perhaps more donations and grants (plus the continued involvement of people like those listed above) will guarantee continued decline of materials sent to be wasted in a hole in the Earth that is the Palmer landfill.

Say your thanks to the Mid Valley Recycling volunteers by liking us on Facebook, or visit our website, midvalleyrecycling.com, for more details. You can also donate there, too. Thank you for thinking of your children’s world.

Sammy Taylor is an avid gardener who lives in the Big Lake area.