Quarter till three, time to back in the pickups at the Keep Alliance Beautiful Recycling Center. Stepping out the door, I see someone who needs the space first: small red SUV, number 69/Dawes County plates. Yep, the lady from Crawford who returns whenever she has a full load.
We lift animal feed bags stuffed with sorted materials out of the back. Some are set aside for later, others dumped to be filled again for the next trip. The focus is always unloading the vehicle quickly and efficiently while checking whether there are any questions or if they need any boxes or bags back.
Today, our dedicated recycler from up north brought two passengers curious about our operation. She introduced her in-laws who were visiting from Brazil. Her mother-in-law asked a few questions as her father-in-law snapped a photo or two on his cell phone. I described what we recycle here in Alliance along with the volumes KAB handles on an annual basis and where everything goes. A cell phone handled much of the translating. Tell the device what to say in English and a couple seconds later the phone repeats the same sentiment (I assume) in Portuguese.
Telling somebody new about the recycling aspect of KAB is always a fulfilling experience. When the opportunity happens at the recycling center, they can see first hand the next step for whatever was dropped off from cardboard to cans or bottles. There is often a greater sense of involvement when you see more of the process.
The couple from Brazil was impressed with what happens to their daughter-in-law’s dropoffs. Later, I realized I had missed an opportunity to ask about recycling in their community. I admit that my focus is usually on how we gather, sort and process material at KAB. Recycling and environmental issues in Nebraska are next. I consider the national picture with a broader brush and rarely think about how other countries tackle the same challenges.
Global environmental news, more often, is about an overall phenomenon like climate change that affects everyone. However, Brazil has been prominent for decades due to deforestation in the vast Amazon rainforest. The amount of carbon dioxide these trees take in is key when addressing the amount of greenhouse gas in the atmosphere. On other environmental issues, Brazil rates higher:
*Brazil is the leader in the recycling of aluminum cans and PET bottles, at over 98 percent (www.aventuradobrasil.com)
*The country has over 46 percent of its energy from renewable sources (www.weforum.org)
I would like to see nations share methods of their environmental successes and do more to combat challenges. Brazil gains more than twice as much of its energy from renewables than the United States. Of more interest in my arena, I’d like to know how it is possible to recycle almost all of the PET bottles and aluminum cans consumers empty. Is it because they value the environment more or is there a financial incentive to turn them in?
Next time, I’ll make sure to ask new visitors more about how they keep their community beautiful.