Timothy Kennedy (Forest Service), Kristi Mingus (NRCS) and Dean Stacy (NRCS) of the Carbon County Green Team have been an integral part of the local recycling effort at the Forest Service and NRCS.
By Timothy Kennedy
The Green Team of Carbon County has three members who have been instrumental in helping their employers meet a requirement to recycle. As federal agencies, the Manti-La Sal National Forest and Natural Resources Conservation Service are required to recycle as much waste as possible. Timothy Kennedy (Forest Service), Kristi Mingus (NRCS) and Dean Stacy (NRCS), working with Recyclops, have made recycling easily available to employees in their offices.
The offices currently use a curbside recycling program named Recyclops, which is available to residents and businesses in Price, Helper and Wellington. The program is easy to use at the office as it does not require sorting and accepts mixed paper, plastic containers (#1-7), aluminum cans, steel cans, aluminum foil, chipboard and cardboard. Glass is not currently accepted, but Recyclops does plan to expand and add glass recycling.
The Forest Service and NRCS also recycle glass, batteries and used ink cartridges. We have an employee that resides in Provo and volunteers to transport our glass and batteries.
The two organizations have multiple reasons that guide their efforts in recycling, including:
To Reduce Waste in Landfills – Our landfills are overflowing at an overwhelming rate. We are already running out of space that could be used as landfills. As much as 60-75% of the garbage that is in our country’s landfills could be recycled.
To Prevent Water Pollution – Most landfills do not treat the garbage before it is buried. This affects the quality of our groundwater.
To Save Energy – Recycling most of the products we use involves less energy than making them from raw materials.
To Reduce Carbon Emissions – Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas that is a major contributor to global warming. Manufacturing certain raw materials releases more carbon dioxide than recycling them.
To Prevent Air Pollution – Choosing recycled materials from paper products, plastics and metals instead of using raw materials reduces the amount of toxins released in to the air.
I encourage other organizations, businesses and residents to get involved. It’s the right thing to do. Recycling is a simple way to conserve our natural resources for future generations.
I also wish to remind community members about the five R’s to zero waste. Refuse (say no to unnecessary items that will soon become waste), Reduce (to use less; to use fewer resources), Reuse (to use again or more than once. Consider using nalgene water bottles, travel mugs and canvass bags at the store), Recycle (turn materials that would otherwise become waste into resources. For instance, plastic bottles are recycled into playgrounds for children) and Rot (turn your kitchen scraps into high-quality fertilizer. Consider getting a worm bin or start an outdoor compost pile.)
This article was brought to you by the Green Team of Carbon County and Recyclops. For more information on the Green Team of Carbon County, follow them on Facebook or visit their website at www.ccgreenteam.com. Community members who would like to become involved with the Green Team of Carbon County are encouraged to contact Timothy Kennedy at timothykennedy79@hotmail.com. On the second Thursday of each month beginning at noon and lasting an hour, the team meets at the Price City Hall in room 106 and encourages the community to get involved. For more information on curbside recycling services through Recyclops, please visit www.recyclops.com.
A true conservationist is a man who knows that the world is not given to him by his fathers, but borrowed from his children. – John James Audubon.
