Going green

WILLMAR -- Recycling wasn't always a part of Cyril Hiltner's daily routine. In the past he put plastic bottles, newspaper and glass in the garbage. But when the Belgrade man started to save and sell aluminum cans, he decided he might as well recycle the other stuff as well.

"It's better than throwing it on a dump pile or burying it," said Hiltner, who was unloading his recycling Thursday at the Kandiyohi County Recycling Center.

If containers can be reused, it's "stupid" to put them in the garbage, said Hiltner. The initial inconvenience of recycling quickly grew into an effortless habit, he said.

That kind of testimonial is music to the ears of county recycling officials, who say residents are currently recycling about 30 percent of the total waste generated in the county. In 2004 a total of 4,095 tons of material was brought to the center. In 2005 it was 4,213 and in 2006 it was 4,096 tons.

Those figures are "impressive," especially considering that all recycling in Kandiyohi County is done voluntarily, said Jeff Bredberg, county solid waste supervisor.

But it could be better.

"We can handle more," said Terry Rice, recycling operations manager for West Central Industries, which provides the labor for the recycling center.

Everyday more than 16,500 pounds of recyclable materials is brought to the center.

In the past, it would have gone to the county landfill.

But there's still more solid waste that could be eliminated from the landfill and instead brought to the recycling center.

"There's more recycling to be gotten, that's for sure," Rice said.

If doing good things for the environment isn't a big enough incentive for recycling, the pocketbook could be.

People who bring in a bag of aluminum cans can leave with more than a little jingle in the pockets. The current price for aluminum cans is 67 cents a pound. It takes 33 cans to make a pound.

In 1993 the market rate for aluminum cans hit rock bottom at 11 cents a pound. The highest the recycling center has ever paid was 78 cents a pound in April, the day after Earth Day. It usually hovers around 30 to 40 cents a pound, said Rice.

The largest one-time payout Rice ever paid was to a community organization that brought in 1,500 pounds of aluminum cans. At today's price, that would be slightly more than $1,000. The current aluminum price should be an incentive for families and businesses to recycle, Rice said.

Recycling can also save money for homeowners who pay reduced garbage hauling fees, Bredberg said.

The market is hungry for recycled materials, said Carol Schmiesing, who works with the county recycling and household hazardous waste program.

In 2006 the county generated $419,177 by selling recyclable materials. In 2005 it generated $430,156.

Cardboard makes up nearly half of the tonnage brought to the center. It's sold to a company in Becker that makes more boxes. One grade of plastic is sold to a carpet company in Georgia. Newspapers are sold to a company in Cloquet that makes ceiling tiles.

Schmiesing said using old materials to make new saves energy and money. She said it takes 95 percent "more energy" to make an aluminum can from virgin materials than it does to make an aluminum can from recycled materials.

That kind of economics makes the recycling market work. "If there's money to be made on it, people will be jumping on it," said Schmiesing.

The only product the county had a problem with was mixed colored glass. There were no buyers and the county had been stockpiling it, said Rice.

A local contractor, Chad Monson, recently started mixing crushed colored glass with aggregate for building road bases and is using the county's glass for roads that are then tarred. Rice said Monson's willingness to participate in the project has been a huge asset to the county's recycling program.

One recyclable product that generates the most confusion is plastic.

As a rule of thumb, Schmiesing said plastic bottles or items with necks are accepted at the center because they're made from a resin that has a good market for resale.

Any kind of wide-mouth plastic container or tub -- yogurt containers, ice cream buckets or non-dairy whip containers, for example -- are not accepted. Plastic lids are also not accepted.