Recycling is more than just kind to the environment.

Monday, February 14, 2000

Recycling is more than just kind to the environment.

It also is kind to your wallet.

For the past 20 years, recycling empty aluminum cans has been a way of life for many. Residents and businesses carefully collected empty cans and redeemed them for cash. Some residents even combed the streets and highways looking for discarded cans.

Although few grew rich from the effort, the extra money was always welcome, and the environment benefited greatly from the practice.

"I can remember in warm weather when cars would be lined up down the drive," recalled Paul Mollett, director of Tri-State Industries in Coal Grove. "We would take in as much as 1,000 pounds each day."

For years, Tri-State Industries has been the area’s headquarters for recycling aluminum cans and provided much-needed jobs for the physically and mentally challenged clients employed there.

Today, recycling has dwindled down to just a shadow of its former self, Mollett said.

"I think we originally had a base of support because people were very aware of the importance of litter control and recycling," he said. "In fact, for many residents, the money (earned from recycling) really was not the issue. They did it because recycling is good for the environment."

Instead of dozens of people bringing cans for recycling, now only about two or three arrive at Tri-State Industries each day.

"There have even been a few days when we have had only one person, with a total of 12 pounds or less," Mollett said.

"We are reaching the point where we will have to consider giving up this valuable community resource."

The need for recycling is greater than ever, he stressed.

"All you have to do is drive down any street or highway, and you will see cans and litter everywhere," Mollett said. "I can’t believe that in this enlightened age that people are still throwing trash everywhere."

Aluminum is a non-renewable resource, so recycling helps maintain a constant and reliable supply of the metal for new cans.

"If you look at how bad things look, especially in the winter, you will see there is a huge need to clean up our environment," he said. "Image is not everything, but it is very important. When people just toss things out their car windows, it tells me we are going backwards."

On an even more human note, the reduced amount of recycling at Tri-State Industries means the loss of jobs for the workshop’s clients.

Tri-State Industries currently pays 39 cents per pound for recycled aluminum cans. At one point a number of years ago, the price skyrocketed briefly to 60 cents per pound; however, it has gone as low as 19 cents.

"I know the cans are still out there," Mollett said. "I just fear that instead of being recycled, the cans are going to dumpsters.

"I don’t know how to glamorize recycling, but I do know it is important for our area."