Reduce, Reuse, Recycle (Halle)

10/18/2023

As most of you know, our town, Salmon Idaho, does not have many options for recycling. I believe the only public recycling available to the town is the Salmon Millcreek LLC building that recycles cans. Many claim that this is not enough recycling in our community and we need more resources to collect, recycle, and reuse waste. There may be a few reasons as to why we do not have recycling such as; lack of population, distance from established towns, and limited funding. Most likely if any options for recycling are produced, they will be owned privately or be volunteer driven. What are your thoughts about the limited possibilities for recycling in our community? Are there any suggestions for a plan of action to get more recycling?

There is limited funding in our town in general, so it is unlikely that our town will pour money into a project that would recycle trash or compost when they have other priorities in mind. This is saddening to me on an environmental level, because even if we are a small town that produces less waste than larger cities such as New York, New York or LA, I believe that any recycling, however small or large, is beneficial. However, if our town can not offer the opportunity to convert and reuse waste, we should look towards other options. Such as, encouraging community members to recycle by composting and reusing trash on their own accord. It may not be as efficient as a recycling facility, but it is better than letting our waste pile up.

11 Comments

Shaylee

10/22/2023 05:41:28 pm

I agree with you, that's it very saddening our town does not have any more options when it comes to recycling. As you mentioned, we don't produce as much waste as New York or Los Angles, but trash is trash. Especially because we have more available outdoor space with animals living in them. It would be fantastic we could recycle more than cans because I know people would recycle more often. Things I have overheard of wanting of to be recycled more are milk container, left over boxes and extra pieces of paper from school projects. I really do believe that if we don't start taking care of all the waste that can be recycled, we will not be able to live in a cleaner environment for us and the animals too.

Halle Peets

10/22/2023 06:48:55 pm

I wonder what the first step would be, perhaps if this were volunteer and donation driven, the town would not have to worry about the funding. However, the only problem with this plan is that it could be hard to find the people willing to donate/volunteer.

Zackeryah

10/22/2023 07:14:39 pm

While yes our proximity to the wilderness gives our town a unique obligation to protect our surroundings there's always going to be individuals who push back on the idea. There's always people here who disagree just to be different, however in wanting to be unique they box them into being the same as their peers. In conclusion there isn't going to be any advancement in Salmon's recycling's movement anytime soon.

Sidney

10/22/2023 07:26:02 pm

I know that a lot of people will post something on Facebook or others apps giving away egg cartons, milk cartons, etc. This is a good way to begin if you are interested in recycling because it is seen by many people digitally.

Zackeryah

10/22/2023 07:11:10 pm

Although our town doesn't have a community recycling center doesn't mean the people here don't recycle. Personally my household recycles cans and organic material. We do this because coming from a bigger spot in Idaho we've gotten used to the societal norm of recycling. We also use the organic compost to help the crops we have growing in our back yard. So I don't believe we need a community effort to recycle, we just need to convince people to do it themselves.

Sidney

10/22/2023 07:29:30 pm

This is a great idea. What are some of the ways your past town practices recycling? Also, I know that a lot of people in our town use their compost to feed certain animals such as pigs and chickens.

Shaylee

10/22/2023 08:04:16 pm

I think that's fantastic that your family already recycles. It's very true that one doesn't have to wait for someone else to start recycling. We all could be doing the small things to make our world a better place.

Sidney

10/22/2023 07:21:23 pm

Although my family has never been big on recycling, I know many people that are big believers in recycling. I agree that it would be difficult for our town to fund it, but an idea for funding it could be creating some kind of fundraiser. If there was a way that all the businesses could have a recycling bin outside of their building that may help, but they should not have to fund it themselves. If our town is serious about recycling, starting with cans would be the easiest way to begin.

Zackeryah

10/22/2023 07:29:18 pm

I agree with your take that cans would be the easiest since most households use cans almost daily. With cans of food or pop we use cans frequently in our day to day lives. However I disagree with your take on not having the businesses fund their own recycling bin. Because if they didn't fund it our tax money would raise to compensate that need, and I don't have to tell you that it would not go well with the locals here.

Krissy

10/22/2023 08:02:43 pm

I also agree with this topic Halle. My family recycles cans, egg cartons, and paper bags. I remember we used to do the can drives in elementary school. I like how Sidney brought up a fundraiser. It would be cool if somebody tried to create a fundraiser project for their senior project to help bring recycling to our town. I think that in order for this to be impactful, the whole community would need to participate.

Shaylee

10/22/2023 08:08:12 pm

I feel like that's been talked about before, a student for senior project could take it upon themselves to set up some sort of recycle program. It would be very beneficially for all, and your right it would take a community willing to participate to make their town a better place.

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle (Halle)

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