Since the tornado hit the Columbia Municipal Recycling Center in April, the laundry room in our house, which is where we collect our recyclables, looks a lot like the tornado hit it, too. It has our whole family thinking more about how to reduce waste streams in our house.
If you are also struggling to figure out how to adjust waste management in your household, we have a program coming up this month that might help!
I have to remind myself that recycling is only one third of waste reduction. The motto is reduce, reuse and recycle. “Beyond Recycling: Real-Life Journeys in Reusing and Reducing,” will be presented by three City of Columbia volunteer recycling ambassadors on July 17 at the Columbia Public Library. The volunteers, each from a different walk of life, will share their personal journeys in reducing waste by focusing on reuse, repair and re-thinking. Join us 6-7:30 p.m. in the Friends Room to hear their stories and practical tips on waste reduction at home.
For those who can’t make it to the program, or if you just want to delve a little deeper, check out this book list on Reducing and Reusing, and this list of children’s books about reducing waste.
You can keep tabs on the city’s plans for rebuilding the recycling center and other recycling related issues here.
And recycling plans are moving forward within Columbia, at the June 2, pre-Council meeting staff proposed budgeting to expand the recycling collection services –distinct from the Materials Reclamation Facility that was destroyed by the tornado — within the city to once per week (instead of once every two weeks) by using automated trucks like the ones now used for the waste collection routes. If you use the city’s waste collection services, you can share your thoughts, needs and preferences in this survey.
Image credit: Grendelkhan, Bales of PET bottles closeup via Wikimedia Commons (license, changes made to original)
