Trash is in the eye of the beholder

To the editor:

One person’s trash is another’s treasure. How true. Several generations of my family can attest to the fact that “trash” is in the eye of the beholder.

My father and aunt grew up during the Great Depression in suburban Chicago. Dad loved it. He got excited about finding a discarded item that he could use. His family and some of the neighbors had backyard gardens and rabbit hutches, small trap lines and had at least 10 recipes for the nutritious dandelion.

As a father in rural Oregon, dad would lead our family on “roughing it” trips. We’d take fishing gear, matches, salt and a few odds and ends to survive for one or several days. Sometimes we’d live like kings: roasting fish on a campfire and drinking tea from gathered mint. Once in a while my brothers and I would beg mother to share the emergency rations she kept in her pockets for such occasions. At other times, we’d fill a gunnysack with the “trash” discarded by others less caring and take our profits in bottle returns.

Today in the Valley we have the opportunity to turn that “trash” into treasure once again. After all, there is no such thing as waste, unless we waste it.

So before you toss that item in the garbage can, ask yourself, “can it be reused?” More often than not, the answer is “yes.”

Valley Center for Recycling Solutions on N. 49th State Street off the Palmer-Wasilla Highway (take a right instead of going straight to the Mat-Su Borough landfill) accepts Nos. 1 and 2 plastic bottles and all other recyclable plastics (with the triangle and a number on the bottom), aluminum and steel cans, cardboard and other paper products, stretchable plastics like Visqueen and grocery bags, as well as other items. Call 745-5544 for the list and hours, or visit valleyrecycling.org. While you’re shopping at Target, take your glass to their recycle bins near the pharmacy. But ask around; there may be someone living near you who has a use for glass containers.

If you use the Big Lake transfer site for your dump, you won’t have to travel all the way to Palmer to recycle. Big Lake’s free recycling includes Nos. 1 and 2 plastic bottles (rinsed with the lids off), steel cans (rinsed), aluminum cans (crushed takes up less space), corrugated cardboard, mixed paper and newspaper. There is also a community compost bin for your kitchen and yard wastes. If your neighbor raises chickens or pigs, give him or her most of your food scraps. Old clothes can be reused by dropping them at the Big Lake Clothes Closet. Or, you might locate a quilter in need of material.

The bottom line is separating your trash saves money and provides others with items they can use. You will be wasting less, andtThat’s good for your grandchildren.

If you wish to do more, join the Meadow Lakes, Big Lake, Houston and Willow planners (Mid-Valley Recycle and Return) as they draft strategies for recycling locally.

For more information, call Jo at 892-2400, Yvonne at 360-8524 or email jwalch@mtaonline.net or sammytaylor@live.com, or call VCRS for the action group in your area.

Sammy Taylor

Mat-Su Valley