I’m a firm believer in recycling instead of contributing to the landfill so have often wondered what really became of all those aluminum cans we so loyally place in the appropriate cans at the trash collection site here in the park. I remember reading short paragraphs in the Happenings newsletter about the funds that were collected or donated but still wondered “who, how, when”. I found the answers and definitely want to give these folks some long overdue credit for their hard work. These five dedicated volunteers are the ones responsible for our highly successful recycling program.
Kent Evans
Jack Rathert
Steve Merriman
Ivan Armstrong
Blake Green
Unfortunately, Blake Green has already left for his summer home but I was able to catch these four guys busy at work Saturday morning. It sounds like they gather behind the maintenance building every morning around 7:00 to crush the cans that accumulate on a daily basis. I watched for a while as they went about the chore of crushing the cans and was amazed at their efficiency. I must get better at my camera work but hopefully you’ll see a short video of the crew in action by clicking on the photo below.
After all the crushing and sorting is done, the team loads up the huge containers of aluminum, loads them into a trailer and transports it all up to the recycling plant in Phoenix.
Recycling accomplishments for the 2009-2010 season:
| Pounds of cans collected | 3,764 |
| Approx # of cans | 120,448 |
| Pounds of scrap metal | 5,140 |
| Donated to Food Bank | $2,660 |
| Donated to Christmas Tree | $250 |
| Donated to Cancer Week | $200 |
| New hoses for car wash station | $136 |
| TOTAL DONATIONS | $3,246 |
In addition to dollars generated, let’s remember the dollars SAVED by our park because they don’t have to pay to have this extra trash hauled off to the landfill.
These gents are not only crushing cans, but have also contributed to the paper and cardboard recycling program. They have piles of other scrap metal that they’re also collecting for recycling.
I asked if they had special requests or advice for our residents:
Regarding cardboard: The big bin for cardboard should be for corrugated board only. Your soda and beer cartons, food cartons, etc are really just paper and belong in the paper recycling containers. The cardboard container is strictly for corrugated board that has flutes. (see photo)
If you see any of these gents around the resort, be sure to give them a hardy “congrats” for a job well done! You can easily recognize them if you see one of their hats.
CONGRATULATIONS & THANK YOU TEAM FOR YOUR EFFORTS!
