Have you started the habit of recycling?

This month marks the first anniversary of curbside recycling in the city of Natchez. In September, Vidalia will complete its first year of curbside recycling, and in November, the city of Brookhaven will complete its second year of curbside recycling.

There is no greater way to impact the environment we all share than to recycle the packaging of the products we buy and consume, and I am pleased to see the progress our region has made in joining together to be responsible stewards of our planet.

With the recent announcement that our region was awarded a Regional Recycling Cooperative Grant from the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality, we are poised to significantly increase participation and volume of recyclables collected, as well as our positive impact on the environment. The grant will allow Natchez and its partners, the City of Brookhaven and Wilkinson County, to expand each community’s recycling program. Natchez will use the grant to pay for transportation costs and purchase equipment that includes:

4Decorative metal recycling bins throughout the downtown and bluff walking trails.

4A compactor and 40-yard container to be used by participating downtown businesses.

4Recycling dumpsters or pick-up service for several locations around the city including the Alcorn State University and Copiah-Lincoln Community College campuses, the Adams County Port, the airport, National Park Service locations, including Melrose and Rosalie, and others.

4The City of Brookhaven will use grant funds to purchase larger 35-gallon recycling carts for 1,000 of their loyal recycling residents. These carts will replace the 18-gallon totes that were issued when their curbside program began.

4Wilkinson County will use grant funds to purchase a compactor and 40-yard recycling container, several 18-gallon totes and 65-gallon carts to be located at all of the public schools, WCCA and county government offices.

4All three communities will use a portion of their funds for education and outreach aimed at both increasing participation and teaching the importance of keeping contaminants such as plastic bags, Styrofoam and glass out of the recycling stream.

Natchez and Vidalia continue to offer curbside pickup to its residents every Wednesday, and in April, Adams County began a pilot program offering curbside recycling to 500 households and hopes to expand it to another 500 households in October.

The curbside recycling program and the drop-off locations are on track to divert more than 500 tons of material from the landfill in its first full year of operation. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, the volume of recyclables recovered means that in the past year, our small region of the world was able to prevent 684 metric tons of carbon dioxide from being released into the atmosphere — the equivalent of taking 144 passenger cars off the road for one year. It also means we saved the energy equivalent of 93 homes electricity use per year. We are making a difference. The program has also already created three full-time jobs and seven part-time jobs for our community.

By the fall of 2014, recycling in the Miss-Lou will be much more visible to our visitors and residents alike. Furthermore, as more and more businesses adopt a recycling program, their employees will start a habit of recycling in their homes. To assist in the education and outreach, The Green Alliance will produce a series of instructional videos on the basics of recycling.

Please visit our website at misslourecycles.com and our Facebook page, Miss-Lou Recycles, to view the videos and learn more about recycling and how you can reduce your carbon footprint and make the world a more sustainable place for our children.

What can you do to help? You can spread the word about recycling. Encourage your friends and neighbors to develop the important habit of recycling at home, school and work.

If you are interested in volunteering with the recycling effort, or any other community projects, please come to the next Community Alliance meeting and get involved. For the date and time of the next meeting, please email me at ntzgreenalliance@gmail.com.

 

Lindsey Shelton is chairwoman of The Green Alliance.