Recycling brings benefits to base

  • Published
  • By John Cochran
  • 377th Air Base Wing Public Affairs
KIRTLAND AFB, N.M. --  Recycling paper, plastic and other materials is "green" in more ways than one, according to the solid waste program manager at Kirtland Air Force Base.

Katrina Wheelock said that Team Kirtland has multiple incentives to recycle: beyond the environmental benefits, recycling saves money and generates funds that support base programs.

"The less trash we throw away, the less we pay for trash removal. We run a 'qualified' recycling program, which means that we can accept revenue from the material we sell. We are directed to use that to support the recycling program, which must support itself. Once it runs in the black, up to 50 percent of the remaining funds can be used for other types of environmental projects. If no projects request funding, the rest of the money goes to morale, welfare and recreation. In the past, we've bought some gym equipment for the base."

After a recent visual audit of 250 dumpsters on Kirtland AFB, Wheelock found that there's room for improvement.

"Basewide, about 30 percent of what we're throwing away is recyclable," she said.
The business side of recycling depends on whether a cost-effective market exists for a given material, she said. Additionally, people should be aware that the material they drop off for recycling re-enters a production process.

"Fundamentally, we need to change the way we think about what we're putting in these bins. It's not that we're putting trash in a different place - it's that we are collecting a resource to be used somewhere else," Wheelock said.

She said the Air Force has a goal for bases to reach a rate of recycling 40 percent of non-hazardous solid waste by 2010 and 50 percent by 2015. "Non-hazardous solid waste" is material that would normally be put into a dumpster, which excludes industrial and construction items.

"For the Fiscal 2011 third quarter, the first quarter under the new integrated solid waste management and recycling contract, our recycling rate was just over 40 percent for the first time. We finally hit the 2010 goal, which is terribly exciting for me. Since FY08, we tend to hover in the low-30s," Wheelock said.

Currently, the Kirtland AFB recycling program accepts aluminum cans, mixed paper (newspapers, magazines, phone books, file folders, envelopes and junk mail), white paper, shredded paper, cardboard, and plastic bottles labeled "1" and "2." Other types of rigid plastic, such as toys and kiddie pools, glass and foam packing material are not yet accepted, but may be in the future.

The curbside recycling pickup schedule is Monday: East Side; Wednesday: Central and outlying areas; Friday: West Side. In general, the East Side covers buildings east of Pennsylvania; the West Side is for sites west of San Mateo; and Central/outlying is between San Mateo and Pennsylvania, plus anything downrange. There are some exceptions - for example, Hangars 1000 through 1002 are west of San Mateo but are picked up with the Central route on Wednesdays, and pick up at the commissary's offices is on Mondays, even though they are west of Pennsylvania.

"We encourage folks to get in touch with us to verify pickup day if they're not sure," Wheelock said.

"We want people to recycle. However, it's important to pay attention to how the bins are labeled. It's less of a problem in the office curbside than at the drop-off location at the commissary, because that's an unstaffed location. It's clear that people mean well. It's not like the stuff is trash - it's different types of plastic that we can't take," she said.