February lets us glimpse a peek of spring despite cold mornings and the promise of snow in the forecast. With the arrival of March comes comparisons to the upheaval Covid 19 brought a year ago. Nearly everyone personally knows somebody who recovered from the virus as dozens of families in the area have also mourned loved ones lost to the pandemic. Healthcare workers, from clinics to care centers to hospitals, have arguably felt the most stress and pressure as they continue to serve the public.
Saying a simple “thank you” can brighten the day for a person in what may usually be a thankless job. Veterans or active duty service members come to mind, or perhaps teachers, or first responders. At Keep Alliance Beautiful, we brainstormed a way to thank everyone at Box Butte General Hospital and its surrounding clinics. Our gesture is in the form of an empty white plastic and metal frame cube behind BBGH. Everyone there is encouraged to bring bags of recyclables from home and toss them in free of charge. We have been monitoring and collecting the bags for sorting in recent weeks.
Though I have no statistics at my fingertips, more people at the hospital continue to take KAB up on the service. That trend is encouraging as I hope being able to recycle through the workplace is viewed as a welcome collaboration between KAB and the hospital administration. If this makes daily life easier, even slightly, for our healthcare personnel then I’m glad we can facilitate the project.
Offering recycling to individuals at the hospital was not much of a stretch from the current environment where employees know to toss in everything from rubber glove boxes to waiting room magazines.These materials, however, are all from the workplace. The first shift at the recycling center empties a multi-compartment trailer (about the size of the one at Dollar General) based at BBGH every Tuesday. The county-owned facility has worked with KAB for years, at times calling us to gather additional pickup loads of paper, cardboard and other materials.
So, our local hospital is like Laing Park near its campus this time of year — turning greener all the time. Every expansion grafted onto the original 1976 structure has meant better energy efficiency with the advances of technology. Now, the modern facility leadership is coordinating business recycling and promoting the habit among its staff. Participation numbers could rival KAB’s curbside program if most BBGH employees take advantage of the “free throw” into our container.
Recycling may not be as fun as basketball yet the calendar says March so I can not resist the metaphor. At KAB part of our business is keeping score (of the tons of materials processed). We love to welcome new teams (businesses) or players (households/individuals). Not everyone wants to play or, if asked, would say they are a fan. No problem. Ours is more of a pickup game — nothing fancy, but we get the job done.