Recycling: 'I can do the little things'

"I'm not going to be able to change the world, but I can do little things."

That's the viewpoint of Rose Bowcut, who took a moment to discuss her thoughts about recycling. She is a familiar face in the Sidney schools, as a substitute teacher and a core-values coach for the Sidney 4-H robotics club.

"It doesn't take that much time to put recyclables in my bins and take them to Safeway," she said.

For the Bowcuts, recycling is a proud family tradition. Her daughters contribute to the system, and shared their thoughts.

Eight-year-old Lily said she likes to recycle "to help the world."

Her sister, Grace, said the reason she recycles is because, "It's not trash," referring to the bins including pizza boxes, egg cartons, empty shampoo bottles, magazines and steel vegetable cans sitting in the family's mudroom.

Many people haven't processed recycling in the same way. Americans only recycle one out of every four plastic bottles, studies show.

"I can't go out and plant a million trees, but I can take advantage of a system that is already in place," Bowcut said. The Bowcut family takes their recycling to one of the two in-town locations in Sidney about once a month.

The two locations are the parking lot of Safeway and Legion Park across from the Shelter House. The recycling bins are processed by the staff at the Sidney landfill.

The Sidney landfill is has an exemplary recycling system for rural Nebraska, according to Deb Rost of Nebraska State Recycling Association.

"Sidney has a great recycling program run by the landfill staff," Rost said. "It would be great if more Nebraska landfills and transfer stations did what Sidney is doing."

Cardboard is bailed on-site at the landfill warehouse. As the largest contribution to the recycling program in Sidney, many businesses opt to have their cardboard picked up by the landfill truck that generally comes on Tuesdays.

Plastics, paper, aluminum and steel are taken to a separate location. The recycling is then sorted through by hand. Non-recyclables are taken out of the group that is being recycled and thrown away.

The goods are loaded into a bailer, compressed and tied in bailing machines, and stacked in the warehouse. Inside the building, the paper is stored away from the weather, while the plastics, aluminum and steel goods are stored outdoors.

Once the bails reach capacity – and depending on the market for recyclables – an outside company is paid to haul and process the recycled goods.

"The market for recyclables is volatile, especially when it comes to paper," said Sidney Landfill Superintendent Rob Campbell.

Conscious of the business side of recycling, Campbell sells the recycled goods when the market will pay more for them, he said.