 |
P.O. Box 20444 |
September/October 1997 Newsletter Co-Editors: |
|
|
|||||
|
P.O. Box 20444 |
September/October 1997 Newsletter Co-Editors: |
 
|
by David Wintz
4:07 a.m. comes early on a Wednesday morning. I woke up before the birds (and my dogs!) to get to Anderson by the time Tim Murphy starts his weekly neighborhood curbside recycling route. Tim says he likes to start before 6:00 a.m. to make sure the trash trucks don't take "his" recyclables.
Tim's route serves about 250 households in his neighborhood. Each Wednesday morning, he heads out with his small pickup truck to pick up corrugated cardboard, newspapers, magazines, phonebooks, aluminum/steel cans and scrap metal of any kind.
I had a blast helping Tim run his route. We picked up what was clearly set out for us and scavenged some things that were set out for the trash - an aluminum window frame, a steel shelf unit and other items. I have no clue as to why people throw metal away - where do they think it comes from? Do people think we will always have an abundance of virgin material? Chew on that concept for a while!
Tim publicized his service by delivering flyers to his neighbors; he estimates a 20% participation rate. He received a 1997 Governor's Award for Excellence in Recycling for his efforts. The publicity from the awards program generated about 10 calls from citizens wanting more information on his recycling efforts.
Tim also serves commercial organizations with recycling services for their office paper and corrugated cardboard. He serves these facilities out of the goodness of his heart; he is a librarian by profession and he also is a movie reviewer for The Madison County Monthly, a local newspaper. Proceeds from the materials go to paying summer camp fees for underprivileged children.
I was struck by how painfully simple Tim's efforts are; yet, how many people are so interested in recycling that they take 5 to 10 hours a week to do this work? Tim's dedication is what makes recycling work in his community. If he didn't get up early each Wednesday, his neighbors would not have free curbside service. If Tim didn't run this route and serve his commercial operations, thousands of pounds of material would go to the landfill instead of end markets.
What if each citizen in Indiana did just 10 percent of what Tim Murphy does for his community? Would we be struggling to meet our recycling goals? How many people in Indiana are there like Tim Murphy? I bet we would struggle to find 10.
Of course, these are rhetorical questions - the real point is that more and more, the recycling successes of the state will be due to individual effort and creativity - -we are all part of this equation. Whether in the private, public or individual sector, we all must find creative ways to move the source reduction and recycling message forward.
While we may dream of the day when every citizen, business and other organization treats recycling just like trash pickup and other municipal services, that day is not coming very soon in Indiana. Tim Murphy is one of the individuals in this State making a difference in his corner of the world.
The Indiana Association of Cities and Towns' Environmental Circuit Rider Program has been awarded a 1997 Innovation in Government Award from The Council of State Governments. This program, funded by US EPA and IDEM is a unique way to provide compliance assistance to cities and towns that need assistance with environmental regulations. Communities interested in obtaining additional information on the circuit rider program can contact Leslie White at IDEM at 317/233-6645.
Marilyn's Imagination Factory, an award-winning art and recycling site for children, has a new address: http://users.hsonline.net/kidatart/.
The Steel Recycling Institute reports that steel is North America's #1 recycled material. The recycling rates for 1996:
|
|
Copyright 1997 by the Indiana Recycling Coalition
Web Page Design by Cyberville Webworks
