Time to review your recycling basics

    COUNTY – Shelby County residents will be receiving a direct mailer piece to their residences later this month full of recycling basics in hopes that the information provided will increase recycling efforts in Shelby County.
    The effort is under way to get residents to consider increased recycling efforts in a time when recycling is more important than ever, but efforts are decreasing.  In the long run, that will cost money, officials said.
    “We have seen a slow, yet steady decline in recycling in Shelby County over the years, and an increase in garbage mixed in recycling,” said Brandon Burmeister, Shelby County Engineer and landfill manager.
    “Our mission is to keep valuable recyclable materials out of the landfill and in production, while running a fiscally sound recycling program.”

Earth Day
    Karen Monical, Education Coordinator at the Carroll County Landfill and Recycling Center and West Central Iowa Solid Waste, said recycling efforts were borne out of the Earth Day efforts.
    On April 22, 1970, more than 20 million Americans took to the streets to protest the deterioration of the environment and voice concerns surrounding pollution and its impact on human health.
    “Because of the efforts of these concerned Americans, the Environmental Protection Agency was created and numerous environmental laws and acts were passed, including the Clean Air Act, and soon after, the Clean Water Act,” explained Monical.
    The laws changed the engineering and lifetime monitoring of the landfill industry.
    “We now enjoy improved disposal services, highly engineered landfill construction, groundwater protection, and the introduction of the Recycling Services that Shelby County Area Solid Waste Agency (SCASW) is proud to provide today,” she said.

Direct mailers
    To commemorate and renew the vision of Earth Day, SCASW is asking all Shelby Countians to learn or review recycling basics, and make it a daily part of the home and office routine.
    All Shelby County households will receive a direct mailing recycling brochure this month.
    “Rack cards with recycling basics will be placed throughout the communities of Shelby County,” Monical said.  
    “And as always, answers to disposal and recycling questions can be found at the SCASW website, www.westcentralsolidwaste.com.”
    Burmeister said the recycling brochures provide an opportunity to bring recycling education into every home in the service area.
    “Our goal is to increase participation in the recycling program while reducing garbage contamination,” he said.
    Earth Day is Thursday, April 22.  
    Both Monical and Burmeister said recycling makes a huge environmental impact.
    “It’s a small daily routine that has a huge global effect,” Monical said.  “Much like the protesters of the 1970s, our actions today will provide a bright and beautiful tomorrow.
    “Reduce, reuse, recycle…it’s the right thing to do.”