ROANOKE, Va.This story is part a series called Solutionaries. We set out to explore innovative ways people are tackling the problems they face. You will find many stories about inflation, affordable housing, the climate crisis, as well as other issues. There are many stories to be told. Here.
Our Solutionaries team is working to find innovative ways for people to deal with trash. They have found unique ways to clean caves that were used as dumpsters, and they have found plastic bags that can be recycled.
Recycling Right can save taxpayers’ money and help the environment.
This bucket could make you proud. It says thank-you every day. Mary Dolan held up an orange bucket to thank Mary for keeping Salem clean. My husband calls my trashy.
As a volunteer in Salem, the former middle school teacher spends two hours each week picking up trash.
I am a long haul COVID COVID. My health has been compromised, although hopefully not permanently. Dolan said that I had it about one year and a quarter ago and that I am not confident going back in a classroom right now.
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The recycling she collects is emptied and taken to the RDS plant at Roanoke where it is sorted and processed.
All localities must meet a minimum of 25% recycling. You take all the garbage you bring to the landfill and divide that by 25%. Then, your locality must recycle a minimum 25%, stated Mike Tyler, Salem Director, Streets and General Maintenance.
Virginia law allows for this. Salems recycling goes far beyond that minimum.
Salem has had a recycling rate of between 32- and nearly 40 percent for the past five years. In 2020, Virginia’s recycling rate was 45%
Tyler believes it is important to recycle the right things.
Everyone thinks it’s plastic. Everybody believes it has a recycling label to allow me to recycle it. There isn’t any market for three- and four-year-olds in this area. Tyler stated that we can only recycle one and two items and everything else must go to the trash. We can salvage the materials and put them into some product manufacturing. It’s a win-win situation.
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The less waste we place in landfills, the more we can recycle.
According to Dan Miles (Roanoke Val Resource Authority CEO), landfill construction can be very expensive.
Miles estimates that the Smith Gap Landfill 11 acres cost $8.5million to build, and that this doesn’t include operating costs. It will last longer if it is kept out of landfills.
I believe it is important for people to realize that they are also part of the solution. They are part of the problem by contributing to the garbage that fills up the spaces. Miles stated that there is a finite space.
I believe you should be concerned about the community where you live. Dolan said that it makes the world a better place.
Recycling right can save everyone a lot in headaches and taxpayer dollars. Here is a list of the RDS requirements for recycling. Here you will find information about trash cleanup days as well as other resources.
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You can also find an explanation of how to recycle right here.
You might be able to find other resources and organizations that will recycle items that your county or city doesn’t recycle through its recycling program.
Sustainable RoanokeYou can recycle coffee pods and straws at recycling events and on lists.
This story is part a new WSLS 10 Solutionaries program. Solutions offer hope. Solutionaries is a show produced by Graham Media Group and focusing on people who are facing some of the biggest challenges in our society. Each episode focuses upon effective solutions to problems and offers viewers opportunities to join the cause for positive change.
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We focus on one topic at a given time, highlighting common problems and the possible solutions. The solution may be right in our backyard or somewhere else that is working across the country.
You can read our story on fighting inflation using creative ways to keep food prices down from March here, and urban heat island in Virginia and their deadly consequences from February here.
Each month, Solutionaries will be updated here. WSLS.com, and on your preferred streaming device with the 10 News Now app. We’d love to have you subscribe. YouTube!
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