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OPINIONS
Editorial: Recycling can be a chore, but it's worth the effort
A shredding machine located at Goodwill’s shredding facility prepares some paper for recycling on Feb. 8.
Purchase this photoThe United States recycles about a third of the solid waste it produces, a rate that has almost doubled in the past 15 years, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.
But we could do more.
In some cases, we are. Think about computers, printers, cell phones, fax machines and other electronic equipment.
So far this year, Goodwill Industries of KYOWVA Area Inc. has collected 5.81 tons of electronics, including 127 pounds of laptop computers, 6,000 pounds of computer monitors, 2,500 pounds of printers and 515 pounds of keyboards, said Carter Seaton, marketing director.
Seaton said all confidential information is taken off the donated devices before the materials are sold to local dealers who recycle them. The shredding and information stripping facility is open from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.
"Our eCycle program is a responsible way to keep harmful chemicals and metals out of West Virginia landfills," she said. "There's not a culture here that thinks responsibly about getting rid of the things they use, but we're trying to change that bit by bit."
As far as other materials go, Goodwill's facility in Huntington's West End recycled 441.5 tons of paper, 77.98 tons of cardboard and 96.61 tons of newspapers last year, Seaton said.
And that does not count other private operations, such as those that take aluminum cans and other metals.
According to the EPA, 52 percent of all paper, 31 percent of all plastic soft drink bottles, 45 percent of all aluminum beer and soft drink cans, 63 percent of all steel packaging and 67 percent of all major appliances are now recycled.
We don't have free curbside recycling in the Huntington area. In town, Allied Waste offers curbside recycling for $3 a month. In the county, the service costs $3.25 a month. Allied Waste has free recycling service for people who wish to take their material to its office in the Lesage area.
Huntington started a curbside recycling program for some materials during the term of then-Mayor Bobby Nelson, but that program ended when the federal grant that sustained it ended.
Recycling makes good business sense for a community. The less material that goes into a landfill, the lower the costs of disposing of that waste are. But we all have to cooperate.
There have been bins around the Tri-State where people can drop off recyclable materials, but they have been abused, whether out of ignorance or apathy. A bin that takes plastic beverage containers cannot take plumbing pipe. A bin that takes glass beverage bottles cannot take window glass.
Recycling makes sense, but it takes work. As Seaton said, much of it truly is a culture change.
There must be ways to encourage recycling by making it more affordable and more convenient. That is when recycling will really take off. Until then, we need to do our part to reduce the amount of waste that is needlessly buried in landfills and find uses for it through recycling efforts.
