Many of you may not realize that we have a recycling program in Walton County, especially if you moved here in the last 10 years. Back in 1989 the county initiated a six month curbside recycling trial with a government grant. Three thousand county residents were asked to separate recyclables in the familiar way that is used in many parts of the country. There was a  whopping 75 % participation rate in the program, meaning that county residents were enthusiastic and cooperative. After the trial period was over, the program was evaluated and it was found, much to everyone’s chagrin, that the program, as it was set up, was not able to pay for itself.  Part of the problem was the high cost of shipping materials long distances, as there are few recycling companies in our area. And so the people in charge of waste management went back to the old drawing board to search for a way that we could do our part. One day a program was discovered in Levy County, Fl where, like Walton County, the landfill was located next to a prison. Prisoners were used as labor to sort through the trash as it came in, using big conveyor belts. Recyclable materials were separated from the rest. Having this free labor cut down tremendously on the operating costs for the recycling program. Walton County waste managers saw that this process could work for us,  so in 1992 we built the recycling center and began our present program. Sorting garbage may sound like a pretty awful job to most of us, but it’s actually a work detail that many prisoners prefer to staying “inside”. If you’ve never been to the local landfill to see this operation for yourself, you might make a point to do so. Taking materials to the landfill is free.

Do they really go through ALL the trash, you ask? Yes, they do, every bit of it. They sort out newspaper, cardboard, aluminum and tin cans, clear and brown glass and all kinds of metal for recycling.

Another important part of the program is the recycling bins that are located all over the county. You will find bins at Maude Saunders, West DeFuniak, Freeport, and Butler elementary schools and at the Walton Middle School. You will find a bin in Paxton, in Pt. Washington, near Portland at the Fire Station and in South Walton on Highway 98 near the Walton Sun newspaper office. These bins take all of the materials listed above. They are picked up once a week on Tuesday or Wednesday. If a particular section of the bin is full (the newspaper section for example) you may use any section with room in it, we are told. Please rinse out glass and can containers. Dirty glass is rejected by glass recyclers and ends up in the landfill.  If you live closer to the landfill than any of the bins you can just take your materials there, free of charge.

If you find that this is a difficult way to recycle for some reason, you should still sort you trash for pickup day. Put clean recyclables in one bag and the rest of the trash in the other. I have two containers in my kitchen, one where all cans, glass, cardboard and newspapers go, and one for plastic wrap, Styrofoam and other non-recyclables. All the non-meat food scraps, coffee grounds, tea bags, hair and used tissues go into a container that goes out to my compost bin. There I layer it with straw, weeds and leaves. This gives me a ready supply of nutrient-rich mulch or potting material to use when I need it.

Those of you with children might try a game that Ronnie Bell, the former recycling program manager, has played with his children since they were very small. You buy an extra trash container and with a magic marker label it RECYCLE.  In this one you put all the rinsed, clear and brown glass jars and bottles, aluminum and tin cans, and cardboard packaging and containers (flattening them saves room). This much we all should do.

If you are ambitious and use a lot of aluminum cans in your family, you can save them and recycle them yourself for between 30 and 40¢ a pound depending on how many you bring in. Freeport Recycling, located two miles west of Freeport on Highway 20, buys these and other materials as well.

The game is to see which trash container you fill up first. Getting children into the habit of sorting for recyclables at an early age is great because it’s easier to learn something new then. They will help keep you on your toes, until it becomes habit for all of you. Before you know it, it is second nature and you don’t have to think about it anymore. You will find that there is something really satisfying about seeing just how much of your trash isn’t going to end up in the land fill.

Why bother sorting if the prisoners are going to do it anyway?  Because a greater  percentage of the material in your trash will be recyclable if it is clean and sorted. If your newspaper is all soggy with coffee grounds or leftovers it will go in the landfill and not to a recycler. If you put glass and tin containers caked with dried on food in the trash they may not be accepted by recyclers and then cost the county more money to dispose of. You CAN still make a difference in how you handle your household trash.

Rusty Floyd, who runs the program, asked me to remind you, too, that they take used oil at the landfill as well as at the county shops in District 5 and on Montgomery Circle, in Paxton, and at the Freeport City Hall.

For more information on recycling in Walton County please call Rusty Floyd at 892-8180.  Be part of the solution instead of a part of the problem.

Poison in our Playgrounds

From the Florida PIRG website - www.FloridaPIRG.org

“Rep. Larry Crow, Florida Public Interest Research Group (PIRG) and other public interest organizations are working to educate the Florida legislature about the need to protect Florida's children from arsenic contaminated playgrounds.

Arsenic treated wood contains enough toxic chemicals in it to qualify it as a hazardous waste.  This highly toxic carcinogen leaches from treated wood and ends up on children's hands and in their mouths. 

There are many safe alternatives to arsenic treated wood products that are as effective against insects, decay, and rot.  We should not subject our children to the numerous health risks associated with arsenic when affordable, available, nontoxic alternatives exist. 

Our children have the right to play at playgrounds free from toxins; we have a responsibility to safeguard our children from the health risks associated with arsenic. 

I urge you to protect the health of our children and support legislation that would ban the use of arsenic treated wood in Florida's playgrounds.”

Go to the Florida PIRG website to learn more about important issues that effect you as a resident of Florida.

This column comes to you courtesy of the Environmental Concerns Group of the DeFuniak Springs Garden Club.