Today’s date is closer to Groundhog Day than New Year’s. I still have a resolution though. Gain weight – lots of it.
The past two years, recycling volume at Keep Alliance Beautiful has been like that middle school student that keeps outgrowing his shoes and pants every time you turn around. In other words: steady and not unexpected. I had hoped to see weight increase at the recycling center over 2021 like a health nut who drops the diet and gains the 43 pounds back. The numbers are in and we did not hit the million-pound mark. However, Box Butte County and our other recyclers posted a record year! Barb at the office supplied totals that tell their own story.
Everything shipped out our doors last year totaled 794,640 pounds. Averaged out, we gained more than two pounds for every county resident over the tally for 2020 – 770,665. The gain is that second consecutive increase with 665,300 pounds recorded in 2019. That year was a dip in the numbers after 745,271 pounds processed to close the loop in 2018.
So, will recycling volumes continue to climb at KAB or will we ever see a plateau? Drop off a worn out, torn couch at the Alliance landfill and there’s the answer. A significant amount of the refuse baled then stacked in the massive cell there could have ended up in a KAB trailer or curbside bag. The question is not dumpster diving but dumpster diversion.
Cardboard continues to be the most popular material by weight at the recycling center. In 2021, KAB collected and baled 428,412 pounds or 214 tons of it. That’s enough boxes to balance a new BNSF locomotive on a giant teeter totter. Local online shopping has helped fuel an increase over 2020’s total of 342,309 pounds.
Volume is difficult to quantify for those of us charged with collecting, sorting and baling as things pass through every week at the recycling center. However, the records our manager G.O. keeps also show milk jug, No. 1-7 plastic, fiber (paper) board, steel/tin can and Hefty bag weights (in addition to cardboard) exceeded the previous year.
Milk jugs more than doubled, from 4,318 to 9,341, helping the bottom line since this un-dyed resin is sold to a Nebraska-based company.
No. 1-7 is runner-up behind cardboard in sheer pre-baled volume. Plastic peaked at 18,750 pounds in the third quarter as part of a 51,933-pound total last year. Recyclers brought in 21 tons by the end of 2020.
The “orange bag” program continues to gain momentum with 8,074 pounds baled last year compared to 6,516 in 2020. Fiber board crept up a smidge over half a ton to 52,112 pounds. Steel/tin also went up slightly, almost 6 percent, to 12,046 pounds.
All categories of paper (including newspaper, office, mixed, magazines/books) continue to account for the second-most recycled material by weight though the amount retreated compared to 2020. Paper products have been in flux in regard to how we handle and sort different types for Western Resources Group in Ogallala so 2021 has a category not listed for 2020. So while not quite apples-to-apples the overall amount went from 162,988 to 137,728 pounds.
Glass, which edged over 100,000 pounds in 2020, dropped to 63,138 pounds. Our $1 an item electronics program also attracted fewer takers for the service based on weight from 21,891 to 15,572 pounds.
Admittedly, anyone can make figures dance though weight is a strong indicator of overall support by our community. Thank you to everyone who has already opted for the recycling bin over the trash can whenever possible in 2022. Can’t wait to check our weight again soon!