Carson Times: Minden Resident Starts Valley Curbside Recycling Program
Filed under: Earth 911 - June 23, 2008
By Roseann Keegan
When promoting the importance of recycling, Amber Emery likes to use a quote from Helen Keller: “I am only one; but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but I still can do something. I will not refuse to do the something I can do.”
For Emery, that something is a new recycling service for the Carson Valley. Her company, Carson Valley Recycling, fills the current gap in curbside recycling programs in Douglas County.
The first official pick-up was June 2, with about 50 households on the roster. Emery, who lives in Minden, said the client list continues to grow each day.
“We’re hoping for a few thousand customers, within our long projections,” she said. “A base of 30 percent of residents in the valley should participate.”
Emery said data on the Web site Earth 911, www.earth911.org, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency show that in 2006, including composting, 82 million tons of material was diverted from landfills and incinerators. In 1990, that number was only 34 million tons.
Carson Valley Recycling service is available to residents living within the Douglas Disposal service area through a cooperative agreement with the company. Emery said she hopes to expand to areas serviced by the towns of Gardnerville and Minden, and she encourages residents to notify town officials.
The cost is $10 per month, billed quarterly. Twice a month, either Amber Emery or her husband, Wes, retrieve the recyclables on the scheduled day that Douglas Disposal serves the area. Customers don’t have to subscribe to Douglas Disposal to receive the service, but they do have to live within the service area.
One of Emery’s favorite sources for learning to live “greener” is “Big Green Purse” by Diane MacEachern, a book that encourages female consumers, who spend 85 cents of every dollar in the marketplace, to buy less, read labels, support sustainable standards, look for third-party verification, choose fewer ingredients, pick less packaging and buy local.
“It’s that saying from Helen Keller, why not do something?” she said. “If you’re able to do it, do it.”