EcoEKY: Green News from Eastern Kentucky

from WYMT News:

24 Hour Recycling Center

Reporter: Matt Barbour
Email Address: matt.barbour@wymtnews.com

The city of London and Laurel County now has a new 24 hour recycling center.

The public works director says it will save the city thousands of dollars.

People using the new recycling center in Laurel County say it's easy and convenient.

“It's just one of them things if I don't I have to pay for the garbage truck when I can bring it here on the trip to town,” Bennie Smith said.

The city of London opened the new regional recycling center Monday and the city's public works director says it's a big improvement from the county's old center.

“It can only help them, with the roadside litter and with the way they had to process it, it was labor intensive,” Steve Edge said.

Edge says in the first year alone he expects the facility to process about 3,600 tons of material that would normally be going to a landfill and that will save the city about $75,000.

Robby Blair is the center's supervisor and says everyone should make an effort to recycle.

“What happens, ten years from now? You know, there's not going to be many landfills left,” Blair said.

He says they've designed this center to be more user friendly.

The old one had dispensers that were much higher off the ground.

Just ask Zelma Rice, “Well, if you've got a bag of papers, they're heavy. They get heavy. and it's harder for older people especially, or short people to reach up and put those in there.”

She says hopefully the convenience will encourage others to make a difference in their community.

Blair says curbside recycling service could be provided within the next two years.

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Press Release from the KY Division of Waste Management:

Recycling organization will meet in June

Press Release Date: Wednesday, May 07, 2008
Contact Information: Fred Kirchhoff, 502-564-6716


FRANKFORT Ky. (May 7, 2008) – The Kentucky Recycling Interest Group (KRIG) will meet June 17 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Eastern Kentucky University campus in Richmond. The meeting is open to members and others interested in recycling in Kentucky.

The statewide networking organization membership includes key players in the recycling industry – collectors, processors, brokers and manufacturers who are end-users of recycled materials. An organization meeting was held earlier this year under sponsorship of the Kentucky Department for Environmental Protection’s Division of Waste Management and the Kentucky Pollution Prevention Center (KPPC).

Attendees will have a chance to review draft mission and vision statements written by a steering committee from information developed at the initial meeting:

Mission Statement – “The Kentucky Recycling Interest Group promotes ‘zero waste’ through resource conservation, increased recycling, and waste reduction.”

Vision Statement – “The Kentucky Recycling Interest Group (KRIG) will identify and recommend practices to develop sustainable and economically viable recycling and waste reduction policy. The primary goal of this initiative is ‘net zero’ waste output for the Commonwealth of Kentucky. This will be achieved through the examination, demonstration, and implementation of conservation, resource recovery, and waste reduction practices. KRIG will promote economically viable, safe, energy-conserving, sustainable recycling and waste management practices through public/private partnerships.”

To register for the June 17 meeting, go to the KPPC Web site -- www.kppc.org -- and look for KRIG under Upcoming Events. The registration page has a map and directions, and an agenda will be posted later.

For more information about KRIG, contact Fred Kirchhoff or Dara Carlisle at the Division of Waste Management, 502-564-6716. Their e-mail addresses are Fred.Kirchhoff@ky.gov and Dara.Carlisle@ky.gov

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from the University of Louisville's Kentucky Pollution Prevention Center blog:

Kentucky Recycling Interest Group Meeting

The Kentucky Recycling Interest Group will advocate "zero waste output” through resource conservation, increased recycling and application of waste reduction techniques in Kentucky through effective applications of education, investments, planning and technology.

June 17, 2008

10:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. EDT
Eastern Kentucky University
Perkins Building
Richmond, KY

Registration required by 10:00 a.m. June 16, 2008.

Lunch will be provided.

There are three easy ways to register for this event:

* Call KPPC at (502) 852-0965, or
* Send Email to registration@kppc.org with Subject: "KRIG Meeting", or
* Register online

Directions for Perkins Building from I-75

From either direction, take exit 87, Eastern By-Pass. Travel down the By-Pass, turn right at light #6, KY 52 West/Lancaster Ave. Turn left at next light, Kit Carson Drive. The Perkins Building and parking lot is at the top of the hill on the left.

Eastern Kentucky University campus map with the Perkins Building highlighted. (PDF format)

For questions concerning registration, please contact KPPC at 502-852-0965 or registration@kppc.org.

For questions concerning KRIG, please contact Dara Carlisle, Kentucky Division of Waste Management, at dara.carlisle@ky.gov or call Dara at 502-564-6716.

This event is hosted by the Kentucky Division of Waste Management in partnership with the Kentucky Pollution Prevention Center.

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from the London Sentinel-Echo:

Mayor backs curbside recycling

By Tara Kaprowy
Staff Writer

Published: April 22, 2008 06:54 pm

Mayor Troy Rudder told London Downtown members about his plans for the future of recycling in London — and they’re big.

“If we’re going green, we’re going all the way,” he said.

If Rudder has his way, curbside recycling in London will be a reality in two to three years’ time. He also wants to see the amount of garbage going into the landfill reduced by 75 percent in the coming years. In the first year, he wants to cut the amount down by 25 percent.

“It’s the right thing to do,” he said. “All towns need to be looking at this right now because that’s the future.”

For Rudder, recycling boils down to a question of economics.

Right now, the city dumps 150 tons per day at a cost of $22.50 per ton.

“We spend about $522,000 a year to dispose of just dumping garbage at the landfill,” Rudder said. “Every pound we can keep from the landfill saves us money and, in turn, saves the households and businesses in town.”

Moreover, Rudder expects the cost to dump in the landfill to rise exponentially.

“We known in four years what is going to happen to our dumping fees,” he said. “It’s going to skyrocket.”

“We can look at doubling our tipping fees,” he added, estimating that that in four years, the price to dump at the landfill will likely jump to $40 or $42.

To make the recycling goals a reality, the city and county have applied for a $310,000 grant to expand the program. In the grant application, the city proposed taking over the program.

London Public Works Director Steve Edge, who is to be in charge of the program, said he is “80 to 90 percent” sure the grant will be awarded to the area. Even if it isn’t, plans are still moving forward.

“We’re getting the facilities ready to implement it,” Edge said. “It will be another 60 to 75 days.”

Edge said the city plans to recycle “everything from e-waste down,” meaning electronics will be recycled, along with paper, plastic, cans, cardboard and all types of paper.

Edge said the grant will be used to buy recycling equipment — a compacter, can densifier, glass pulverizer, shredder — that would make the program less labor intensive.

Laurel County has had a recycling program since 2001. Though it was considered to be one of the most progressive centers in southeastern Kentucky, lay-offs made in July 2007 ground the program to a halt.

Laurel County Solid Waste Coordinator Jim Ed McDaniel said the county no longer has the manpower to distribute the recycling bins to various locations in the county, and is having trouble keeping up with the products dropped off at the McWhorter Street center.

“It will be a godsend for us,” McDaniel said of the city taking over the program. “Me and my other two employees will go back to our solid waste part. We’ll be able to pick up the appliances as they come in and do the road litter pickup.”

To encourage Londoners to recycle, Edge said the city plans to charge residents who recycle less for garbage pickup than those who don’t.

“For example, we would charge them a rate of $10 if they do recycle and $15 if you don’t,” Edge explained. “We’re going to let you save yourself money.”

Neither Rudder nor Edge anticipate the recycling center will actually make the city money.

“We’re hoping it can break even,” Rudder said.

“We’ve got to make it pay for itself,” Edge added.

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from the Eastern Progress Online:

Batteries: heavy metal you can recycle

by Casey Tolliver
4/17/08

If you have ever been to the Richmond campus, chances are, you have been in close proximity to dangerous toxic substances.

In fact, there are poisonous heavy metals and corrosive electrolyte solutions throughout your house, and even in your car.

Found in batteries, these hazardous wastes are detrimental to the environment, dotting the landscapes and landfills with poison; other than simply throwing them in the trash, there is no effective and convenient way to dispose of batteries.

The Universal Waste Battery Program, a new environmental stewardship program, plans to try to reverse this practice at Eastern by providing the preferred disposal alternative for hazardous batteries on campus, according to the UWBP outline.

"The biggest thing we want to do is to let the university community know that we are rolling out this recycling program and pay attention when you check out what can be recycled," Eastern Facilities Services recycling spokesperson Randy Wilson said. "Some batteries contain lead and mercury and these are horrible to the Earth. The lithium batteries, when they decay, they release ether."

Students wishing to responsibly dispose of their batteries can ask for a Universal Waste Battery pre-printed envelope from their building supervisors or residence hall advisers.

The universal waste batteries and the university's collected e-scrap waste are processed at Kentucky Recycling.

Batteries contain several components that can be recycled, but the focus is primarily on the recovery of metals, including mercury, silver and cadmium, according to the UWBP outline.

Wilson said the UWBP is a unique program and Eastern is one of few universities in the state with a battery recycling program.

"This is a fairly new program, and I'm excited about it," Wilson said. "It means that we're going to be leaders in environmental sustainability, and that is something most of the other universities aren't doing."

A few other universities have also hired outside recycling coordinators, but recycling programs done at Eastern are done "in-house", Wilson added.

With Facilities Services' commitment to environmental and recycling issues, the scope of its projects is broader than just recycling batteries.

Facilities Services works to recycle numerous waste products at Eastern: plastics, newspaper, ink cartridges and cell phones are only some of the items on its list.

In addition to its budding work with batteries, Facilities Services also has a partnership with Habitat for Humanities in the Cans for Habitat program.

Because of programs like Universal Waste Battery and Cans for Habitat, Eastern is a model for recycling for other regional universities and the community, according to the Eastern Recycles Web site.

The next recycling project for Facilities Services is end-of-semester recycling, which may appeal to seniors and other students exhausted by the semester.

"If you have any notes, throw them in the recycle bin," Wilson said.

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from the London Sentinel-Echo:

City may take over recycling

By Tara Kaprowy
Staff Writer

Published: April 03, 2008 10:05 pm

Laurel County’s recycling center is facing major changes, ones that would greatly expand the program and put it in the hands of the city.

The city and county are jointly applying for a grant in the amount of more than $300,000. That money would be used to buy recycling equipment — a compacter, can densifier, glass pulverizer, shredder — that would make the program far less labor intensive.

London Public Works Director Steve Edge would be at the helm of the program. He is passionate about recycling and improving the system.

“This is something that’s good to do and in the future it’s something we’re going to need to do,” he said.

Edge has big goals for the program.

“We’re shooting for a 20 to 25 percent reduction of what people bring to the landfill in the first year,” he said.

Edge’s ultimate goal is to cut the amount of trash that goes to the landfill by 75 percent.

“My long-term goal is to recycle anything that can be recycled,” he said. “It can happen. It’s already being done in other cities.”

Edge also sees curbside recycling — meaning it would be picked up at people’s homes — in London’s future.

“Within three to five years, you’ll see curbside recycling in London,” he said.

If the grant is awarded, the recycling center will be moved from its McWhorter Street location to the transfer station on KY 192 near TLC Lane. In terms of expanding the program, Edge would eventually like to be able to recycle electronics, such as computers and TVs, as well as batteries and paint.

Edge also plans to get Laurel County schools recycling, and have trailers parked on-site.

Under the terms of the agreement, the city would “do the recycling and offer recycling countywide,” Edge explained. The grant application had to be submitted to the Kentucky Division of Solid Waste April 1. Edge estimated he would hear if it had been awarded to Laurel County in 30 to 45 days.

Edge feels London and Laurel County have a good chance of getting the grant. He said the city and county applied for the grant separately last year and were both denied.

“We were denied because it wasn’t a joint venture,” he said.

Now the city and county are both on board, and Rockcastle County has agreed to bring their recyclables to Laurel County to have them processed.

Getting more counties on board is Edge’s goal.

“We’d like to make this a regional center,” he said. “We’ve talked to Clay and Jackson counties as well. We’re looking to help the region instead of just this immediate area.”



Staff writer Tara Kaprowy can be reached by e-mail at tkaprowy@sentinel-echo.com.

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from the Ashland Daily Independent:

Approval for Boyd recycling program could come in July

By CARRIE KIRSCHNER - The Independent

Published: April 03, 2008 11:33 pm

ASHLAND — The launching of a countywide recycling program is in waiting mode while state environmental officials review a grant needed to launch the program.

Marion Russell, Ashland’s acting director of public services, said a joint committee of Ashland and Boyd County officials submitted the application earlier this month. Approval could come as early as July.

Russell said the grant seeks more than a half million dollars to be used to purchase equipment to run the proposed recycling program. Funds are also being requested for an extensive public education campaign, he added.

Ashland began recycling last September using prior grant funds from Environmental and Public Protection Cabinet to purchased 20 single-stream containers to collect recyclable items. The containers, paid in part with city funds, are now in place at four different locations throughout Ashland. As of the end of February, more than 88 tons of recyclable material had been collected in the containers, Russell said.

Ashland contracts with Rumpke Consolidated Companies to empty the bins on a weekly basis. The company handles the material at its facility in Hanging Rock, Ohio.

All that will change if the grant proposal is successful. The joint recycling committee envisions a self-supporting recycling program that could eventually turn a profit — the city now pays Rumpke a fee to empty the bins.

Materials would initially still be collected in containers at drop off sites throughout Boyd County and neighboring areas, but the materials would be sorted and baled at a jointly-owned facility proposed at the old county garage and then sold.

The committee plans to use inmates from the Boyd County Detention Center to perform the labor, although at least one full-time supervisor will need to be hired, according to the committee.

If successful, committee members say they would eventually like to see the program expanded to include curbside pick-up.

Ashland Commissioner and committee member Cheryl Spriggs said the plan has been well received both by residents and potential buyers. She said vendors interested in purchasing the material have already begun calling.

The committee has been working on the proposal since last fall, touring facilities in other Kentucky counties including those in Lexington and Maysville. A future trip is planned to visit a newly opened facility in Pikeville.

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from the Barbourville Advocate, April 4, 2008:

Haulin' it in by truckloads



Scrap metal price on upswing

By Eddie Arnold, City Editor

Judging from the increasing volume of scrap metal being recycled, the old saying “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure” is apparently true. With scrap metal prices reaching near-record highs, a growing number of people from Knox and surrounding counties are taking to the creeks, hillsides and dumpsites of the area in search of metal they can sell to make money.

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from www.green-mart.org:

Green-Mart is now accepting old dry cell, and rechargeable batteries, inkjet cartridges, and old cell phones for recycling free of charge. If you want info on how you can set up your business, church, or other group for collection visit our links page.

Visit www.green-mart.org for more information.

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From the Corbin Times Tribune website:

London offers locals recycling alternative

Published: April 02, 2008 10:33 am

By Brad Hicks / Staff Writer

Laurel County residents who are looking to unload some old electronic devices they may have discovered after spring cleaning are encouraged to recycle them instead of tossing them out.

London Downtown Director Sherri Mosley said Laurel County residents can drop off cellular phones, laptop computers and used printer cartridges at her office in the London Community Center.

“We can only take those three items,” she said.

Last year, London Downtown joined with the America in Bloom Program, which assists towns looking to become “garden cities.”

“Since that’s what we’re trying to become, we figured we’d join that,” Mosley said.

America in Bloom sent two judges who advised London Downtown of the areas that needed work in the town. The judges mentioned that more environmental needs should be addressed.

The electronic items have to be sent off to companies for recycling, however these companies pay for the items sent. Funds raised from the recycling efforts would go toward funding a London Downtown environmental committee.

Currently, the recycling center located in London is not able to take electronic devices, referred to as “e-waste,” for recycling, but Mosley said Laurel Countians should look for that to change soon.

“In the near future, e-waste will be part of our recycling program,” she said.

She also said within a couple of weeks, 10 businesses in London would be named as pilot recycling businesses. Mosley said these are businesses looking to “go green.” Once the representatives of these businesses are educated on the recycling process and are set up, their progress will be monitored for one year.

The prospect of recycling, Mosley said, can be overwhelming, but she feels more people are looking to recycle, and continued education efforts will assist with that.

“People in general want to recycle, they really do,” she said. “They just don’t know how to go about it. We’re here to educate them on the first steps.”

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In this WYMT report (read the text and watch the video clip here), Prestonsburg City Council member Gorman Collins suggests city projects such as recycling need funding before the city puts funds into a wireless internet service.

City Council Questions Cost Of Wireless Internet In Prestonsburg

Posted: 6:16 PM Apr 2, 2008
Last Updated: 9:23 PM Apr 2, 2008

Reporter: Dara Rees
Email Address: dara.rees@wymtnews.com

It's a pilot project to provide wireless internet service to Prestonsburg but after a few months of the free service, the city council says city funds should be used for other projects first. A number of local surveys show the community is in favor of the service, but there are still some bumps in the road to the world wide web.

This Eastern Kentucky city could be a wireless community, but a two mile stretch could be the only part of the city that gets to see it.

"We wanted to make sure that we could compete globally, as well as locally in different markets. We decided to use technology to achieve that," said Brent Graden, Director of Economic Development.

In theory, anyone along the designated stretch should be able the free wireless signal in Prestonsburg. City council members say they've seen a number of complaints from the community.

"You can't pick it up in most of the places in the city. It's not doing what some people have promised and really it shouldn't be going any further until we complete some other things," said Gorman Collins with the Prestonsburg City Council.

Collins says there are other projects in the city that are a higher priority.

"We have Mountain Arts Center, we have Stone Crest Golf Course, Prestonsburg Archer Park, our recycling project, some of the other things need to be done first and we feel like the money could be better spent," Collins said.

Graden says the cost of the project is thousands less than it could have cost.

"We're not opposed to the project, what we really feel is that the money can better be spent," Graden said. "Although this is still a test project that we are doing, we're hoping that the city council will vote on this and take us forward into the 21st century."

Graden hopes the wireless internet can draw in businesses and new opportunities like distance learning to Prestonsburg.

City officials are hosting a series of public meetings to answer questions about the wireless service.

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From the WYMT website:

Pikeville Partnership Leads To Improved Recycling

Posted: 5:34 AM Apr 1, 2008
Last Updated: 7:48 AM Apr 1, 2008

One eastern Kentucky hospital is joining others trying to help the environment by "going green".

On Tuesday April 8th, Pikeville Medical Center and the City of Pikeville will start a partnership that will allow the two to reduce the amount of waste they send to the landfill.

A recycling center on site at P.M.C. will allow people to recycle cardboard, paper, plastic and aluminum cans.

The city and the hospital say they hope to reduce landfill waste by more than 100,000 pounds with the partnership.

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