Rubbish culled from material meant for processing can make dumping our trash cans a two-man job. That is why we bring our landlord’s Dumpster inside the Keep Alliance Beautiful Recycling Center and empty six or seven receptacles at a time. Ah, the perks of owning a forklift. Our crew expects a certain percentage of waste and knows how to spot it. However, we are increasingly dealing with after hours “donations” too massive for a 55-gallon can liner.
On a recent Saturday morning I pulled to our shop’s front door just before 8 o’clock prior to pulling our trailer to Chadron. A squat green obelisk of a safe greeted me – smack dab in front of our only functioning overhead door. Thanks to the tiny loose gravel, I pushed it over and out of the way. Cracked electronics peaked out where the owner had entered a combination and a missing handle revealed its uselessness. The following Monday, a large window (perhaps 3×4 feet) found its way right in front of one of our trailers on the north side of the center’s lot. Add these items to the doors, toilet, lumber, and I have honestly forgotten what else in the past year, and we could nearly build a house.
Benefit of the doubt can apply, yet when bulky things appear during the off hours people avoid landfill fees and the guilt of tossing the item into a rural ditch. Simply put: we would appreciate no more dumping non-recyclable junk at the KAB Recycling Center or at our various trailer sites.
Wait, not everybody knows what we can take and I was hard pressed to find a list online. Below is a current rundown. All materials should be clean and dry and can be brought to 107 ½ Cheyenne Ave. 8 a.m.-3 p.m. Monday-Friday.
>CORRUGATED CARDBOARD – Is accepted at the large green trailer (broken down boxes) and white horse trailer at the recycling center, and other Alliance and Hemingford trailers as marked. We encourage patrons with large stacks to come to our south door where we will unload your vehicle.
>PAPERBOARD – Is accepted at the Alliance and Hemingford trailers as marked. Please remove plastic bags.
>PLASTIC (No. 1-7) – Is accepted at all KAB trailer locations. Available space fills quickly, so if the trailers are full and you cannot drop it off at the center please make sure bags left by the trailers are securely tied. Bottles/containers in the trailers should be loose.
>MILK JUGS (Opaque No. 2 plastic) – Is accepted in its own bins at our trailers since it is baled and marketed separately from No. 1-7 plastic.
>HEFTY ReNEW PROGRAM – Pliable plastics, Styrofoam, and small pieces of unnumbered plastic collected for the program (visit hefty.com for a more complete list) should be bagged and placed in No. 1-7 Plastic bins at the trailers or, ideally, dropped off at the center as we do not yet have dedicated collection points for “orange bag” items.
>MIXED PAPER – Should be deposited in the 10-bin blue trailer at Second and Cheyenne or marked bins at our other trailers. We no longer sort most paper. This category includes: junk mail, office paper, newspapers, magazines, colored paper and copier/white paper. Do not mix with paperboard. Heavier paper such as brown packing paper, wrapping paper and paper bags should be kept with paperboard. Please bag all shredded paper.
>TIN/STEEL CANS – Heavy aluminum, such as cat food cans and disposable roasting/cooking trays, also belongs with steel/tin food cans/miscellaneous containers with bins at all of our trailer locations. KAB also accepts small scrap metal in this category that can easily be transported in our 4×4 IBC totes. We recommend large, heavy scrap metal be taken to a local salvage yard or landfill for recycling.
>ALUMINUM CANS – We suggest bringing large loads to the recycling center as trailer space and a tote next to our green cardboard trailer often fill quickly. Please do not crush the cans as uncrushed containers make better bales.
>GLASS – Should be deposited at our trailers or brought to the center. We do not accept window glass, light bulbs, mirrors or ceramics.
*Recycling Center Only Categories:
>ELECTRONICS AND BATTERIES – KAB asks for a $1 donation per item to process all electronics with no charge for batteries. Electronics include all sizes of TVs as well as copiers, microwaves, computers, cell phones, etc. and other small appliances. We do not take anything with freon or large appliances such as ranges and dishwashers. Batteries must be smaller than car/vehicle sizes. Terminals/ends are no longer required to be taped.
PAINT – Any paint buckets or spray cans with usable liquid will be accepted only during business hours as below freezing temperatures prevent suitable dropoff space during the fall/winter.
TONER – KAB accepts all brands of toner and ink cartridges, which are packed and shipped for recycling through UPS.
For questions and information about categories not listed above feel free to stop by the center or call 308-763-1410.