Recycling equals savings for all of us

This week I am proud to be delivering checks to schools across Lawrence County, thanking them for taking part in our recycling program. A Tennessee Department of Transportation Litter Grant program lets us reward every school and give significant prizes to those that collect the most.

Leoma Elementary claimed the top prize of $2,000 this year, thanks to collections that totaled 142,440 pounds. Loretto Sacred Heart collected 122,160 pounds and won $1,500. Ingram Sowell received $1,000 for their 102,660 pound collection; South Lawrence, $750 for collecting 97,000 pounds; and Lawrenceburg Sacred Heart, $500 for a collection of 87,360 pounds. All other schools receive $200 each.

The grand total for all schools was 1,114,000 pounds, or 557.05 tons. It’s hard to picture that amount of trash in your mind, but consider this:

We pay waste haulers to take our trash to Buck Run landfill in Walnut, Mississippi, which is a round trip of well over 200 miles. Trucks can carry no more than 22.5 tons each, so 557 tons equals almost 25 dump truck trips to Walnut. The landfill charges $34.75 a ton to take our trash, so we pay $782 for each truck load or $19,550 for all 25. The 1.114 million-pound pile of trash I’m picturing is suddenly made of dollar bills.

You should also consider that most of the recyclables we collect are baled and sold, which helps defray the cost of solid waste operations. Prices paid by dealers fluctuate, but Solid Waste Director Gary Wayne Hyde tells me the market for cardboard is good right now. Our newest industrial neighbor, Cabinets To Go, produces a lot of waste cardboard, so that’s even better.

Today with the help of our industrial and business partners and school-based collections, almost half of our total waste stream is recycled. That number fluctuates slightly as well, but we are consistently at or above the state’s goal of 50% for all counties by 2025. In recognition of that, we received the Governor’s Environmental Stewardship Award for Materials Management in 2015.

Do you recycle? Remember that the portable buildings at each school, purchased with grant money in the early 2000s, are there for everyone. Each bag you throw into those buildings – which can be accessed any time of day – is a vote for your favorite school, and an ultimate savings for Lawrence County.

There are also collection points behind the Lawrence County Extension Service and the County Administrative Center, even though the one at my office looks more like a “you-haul” trailer than a portable building. Recyclables can be taken to the Solid Waste facility, open 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 7 a.m. to noon on Saturdays. Free recycle bags are available there and at most schools.

Here’s a reminder of all the things you can recycle:

Metals including (rinsed) food cans;

Plastics labeled #1 or #2 by their manufacturers. This includes most beverage, household and personal care product containers.

Cardboard of any kind;

Paper: newspaper, magazines, books;

Aluminum, including drink cans;

Wood, from furniture to tree limbs

The following items should be taken to the Solid Waste Facility:

Batteries, AAAs to car batteries;

Used oil;

Electronics, excluding televisions;

Clear or colored glass. Glass tossed into collection buildings breaks and can injure those who collect it.

Materials delivered to the schools are hauled to the solid waste facility in a converted school bus dubbed the Re-user Cruiser. A crew of nonviolent inmates sort recyclables into categories so they can be marketed to buyers.

If you don’t recycle, it’s easy to start. Just line a separate garbage can with a recycling bag, toss the items mentioned above into it, and take it to your favorite school when it’s full. If you do recycle, resolve to add another item to your list this year. If you already recycle everything you can, thank you! It does make a difference.