Green Corner / Dec. 2005
How do you measure up in recycling?By Lee anderson, KTB
(Printed in the Taylor Daily Press, 12/08/05)
What's your level of commitment? When it comes to recycling, reuse or reduce, which one of the following categories most resembles your commitment to the environment:
Level I: I don't make an effort to separate my glass, aluminum cans, paper, magazines, newspapers, cardboard, scrap metal, e-waste (electronic), plastics and used clothing. I generally throw it all in the garbage container, which is the easiest for me. I just let someone else worry about it. There is some recycling at my workplace but I don't participate.
Level II: I just don't have time to separate everything, but twice a year I try to participate by picking up trash and getting rid of clothing and other items at garage sales or by donation. Sometimes I participate in the county's waste program, recycling things like paint and oil. I guess I could do more but it would take a little extra effort and time. I do care about the environment. I do put my aluminum cans in a special container at work for recycling.
Level III: I take time to separate as many items as possible, including separating aluminum cans from food cans and scrap metal that can be taken to Texas Metals on Main Street. I can take plastics, newspapers, cans or appliances without refrigerant to the North Maintenance Yard on Main Street and sometimes I take my newspapers, paper and magazines to the Fifth Street collection bins behind the Williamson County Sheriff's office. I also try to participate in the spring and fall citywide clean-ups by keeping my street and business store front clean and free of litter. Occasionally I have cardboard that can be taken to the Williamson County Recycling Center in Hutto, along with E-waste, such as computers, monitors and printers, which are donated to the crisis center. I take my used clothing to Shepherd's Heart in Taylor on Saturdays. I try to never purchase Styrofoam cups or other items made of Styrofoam, which is ozone unfriendly. I try to encourage others to recycle at work and home. I also take my old telephone books to the Fifth Street bins for recycling. I hear Keep Taylor Beautiful gets the little bit of money collected to help beautify Taylor.
Thank You from Keep Taylor Beautiful to all those who volunteered this fall in the city-wide trash-off event. Thanks to the Chamber of Commerce for allowing us to station our event there.
We recycled 400 pounds of newspapers, 80 pounds of clothing, 10 tires, 40 bags of trash on our Adopt-a-Highway and other roads, 218 pounds of scrap metal and 969 pounds of aluminum cans. Last but not least, thanks to the wonderful volunteers who helped out, including some teenagers. Thanks to Dorothy Fischer and other KTB volunteers, Texas Recycles Day was celebrated by people bringing their e-waste (printers, monitors, computers) to the recycling center. The total collected was 3,779 pounds.
Christmas will soon be over, and then you will be stuck with a tree. What to do... The following tips are from Iowa University:
- Place your tree in a yard or garden for use by birds and other wildlife. Branches provide shelter from strong winds and cold. Food can be supplied by hanging fruit slices, seed cakes or suet bags on the branches.
- Prune off the branches and place boughs over perennials as a winter mulch.
- Chip the tree and use the mulch around trees, shrubs or flower beds.
- Look for Christmas tree disposal collection sites.
Well, did you decide what level you are? If you are a Level III person, KTB salutes you for your time, effort and for encouraging others to sort and deliver items to recycle or reuse. Begin now, one by one, to adopt that Âleave no trash behind spirit. Begin today sorting your aluminum cans and newspapers for starters. Then gradually add other items to sort in your daily routine. Before long it will be habit just like any other part of your routine, and what a difference we'll make in our stewardship of our environment.
posted by Miles Baska 
