Jackson Sun: Go green: Time to recycle in Madison County
Filed under: Earth 911 - July 16, 2008
Apologies to Kermit the frog. Being green isn’t so difficult.
Madison County, the city of Jackson, private businesses and Lambuth University are embracing the three R’s of going green: reduce, reuse and recycle.
County Environmental Program Director Brent Lewis said Madison has been recycling paper and aluminum for about 15 years. Cardboard is accepted at six of the 10 disposal sites. Old tires can be dropped off at two locations.
Solid waste convenience centers are posted online as open from 7 a.m. Monday through 6 p.m. Saturday and 1 to 6 p.m. Sunday at Pipkin Road and Overpass View, 1916 U.S. 70 E., 111 Smith Lane, 130 H.O. Forgy Drive, 3242 U.S. 45 S., 95 Passmore Lane, 199 Oakfield Road, 31 Bowman-Collins Road in Medon. Hours are posted as 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday at 1411 Tenn. 138 in Mercer and 1106 Mount Pinson Road. Additional staffing is scheduled for 1 to 6 p.m. Sundays. All convenience centers close at 5 p.m. November through January. Details and phone numbers can be found at http://tinyurl.com/6mqrje.
Paper can include junk mail, cereal boxes, magazines, books and cardboard, but check with each site before stockpiling. What one accepts, another rejects.
Glass is a no-go in Madison County. There isn’t a market for it. “Don’t waste more resources than you conserve,” Lewis said.
Plastic is another tricky item. Code 1 and Code 2 plastic such as milk jugs, 2-liter soda containers and salad dressing bottles can be dropped off for recycling at fire stations No. 2 at 550 Westwood Ave. and No. 5 at 50 Vann Drive, said John Mehr, who is administrative assistant to city Mayor Jerry Gist. Both have bins for paper, as well as the Board of Education Transportation Department building at 59 Harts Bridge Road. The locations are zoned north, midtown and south for residents’ convenience.
Plastic shopping bags can be returned at Wal-Mart centers and some Kroger grocery stores for recycling.
Hub City Waste Paper is on Meadow Street off the U.S. 45 Bypass. It is open from 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. weekdays, and will pay for paper and aluminum. Call 422-4297.
“Glass is just about a dead item,” manager Lewis Young said. “The problem with glass is that there are not many places that take it. You can’t make anything on it.”
Plastic has a market, but “there are so many different grades,” Young said. “Another problem with plastics is contamination,” such as soda left in a bottle and caps left on. The bottle and caps are not the same grade of plastic.
Mehr also urged caution at the city’s plastic drop-offs. Anything other than Code 1 and Code 2 plastic will ruin the melt. Look on the base of the item to be sure it’s an acceptable type.
Hub City plastic primarily is byproducts from industrial and commercial locations.
“It’s on an item-by-item basis,” Young said. Could be stretch wrap, oil bottles or polystyrene. Call the office to determine whether something you have is usable. A new machine is expected in a few weeks at Hub City that will allow the business to process more types of plastic.
“There’s very little that’s not recyclable,” he said. “Is it feasible to recycle it? We have to pick and choose what is. The problem is finding the market.” Then there’s the logistics of storing enough to transport.
“Fuel is killing everybody. Our costs have doubled. We go river to river and state line to state line,” Young said.
As Madison County official Lewis said, the delicate balance is conserving more than is consumed.
Hub City owner Melvin Young has been preaching recycling for decades in several states. “He started a trash/recycling business in Flint, Mich., in the early 1970s,” Lewis Young said. Other homes and enterprises have included Arizona, Florida and Missouri. West Tennessee ventures started about 1975 in Chester County and moved to Jackson in 1980 at the current 12-acre site.
“It’s our children and grandchildren who will suffer most,” Melvin Young said.
Recycling is catching on. “We all are becoming more environmentally conscious,” Jackson coordinator Mehr said. “The buzz is around town. People are calling, and they get excited” about options.
“Five years ago, we were laughed at,” Lewis Young said. “Two years ago, you didn’t see ‘Go green’ signs like are on the bypass now.”
“When purchasing things, look for the least amount of packaging,” county official Lewis said. “Go with more concentrated washing detergents. Reduce at the source.”
Another tip from Lewis is to donate items to thrift shops, Goodwill or Salvation Army. Clothes, shoes, working appliances, housewares and more are accepted, evaluated and either put on display or shipped off to other markets or charities.
Other outlet is The Freecycle Network. Jackson has a group of almost 1,000 members who give away and get free materials so they have an extended life and stay out of landfills that much longer. Members numbered 982 in early July. Visit http://tinyurl.com/5whqhh.
“One thing each individual resident could have is a compost pile,” Lewis said. Dumping discarded food, egg shells, coffee grounds and other decomposable items such as yard trash into a designated spot saves landfill space and eventually breaks down into plant nourishment.
Jackson Energy Authority is doing its part by processing leaves and tree trimmings at the wastewater treatment facility at 167 Miller Ave., off Hollywood Drive.
Environmental applications supervisor Mitch Pigue said compost is sold to the public for $20 a cubic yard and wood chips at $15 a cubic yard. Call 422-7541 for details.
The Web site earth911.org directs citizens to reuse or recycling outlets for electronics, cell phones, used motor oil, tires, paint and many more products.
In celebration of Earth Day on April 22, the Student Government Association at Lambuth University teamed up with campus food provider Sodexho to launch a recycling program.
“SGA feels that the recycling program will be successful and sustainable because of the overwhelming push from both students and faculty for Lambuth to join in on the fight for our environment,” LaBrandon Dates, Lambuth SGA Secretary of Communications, stated in a press release.