RECYCLING

The Chair of the Recycling Committee, Vern Porter, provided the December 8 meeting of Los Amigos with an update on the work of the Recycling Committee. Weekly pick-ups continue at the fourteen schools in La Peņita and La Colonia. The Committee has now made the transition from doing the pick-up itself to having the buyer do the pickup; the transition has gone well as the buyer has a larger truck than was used previously.

The issue of rewarding students will have to be dealt with in the near future. The Committee is awaiting direction from the Executive with respect to the expansion of the program to public drop-off points. An important issue facing the Committee is the recent fall in the price paid for recyclables.

Background

The plastics recycling program that Los Amigos put in place, in cooperation with the Delegaciķn Municipal, was based on a program that has existed in Chacala for some time. The La Peņita program was launched on April 10th, 2008 with the involvement of eight school and was expanded shortly thereafter to include all fourteen schools in La Peņita and La Colonia. It was decided that since students at the computer schools also attend other schools we would not pick up from the computer schools. Presently, there are 4,000 students that participate in this program.

Students are asked to bring their plastics to school each Thursday. Los Amigos then arranges for the plastics to be picked up each Friday.

The following types of plastic containers are accepted: Milk, Yogurt, Pop, Cleaning Products, Water, Mineral Water, Cooking Oil and Car Oil. There is no need for students to separate the plastics into colours. The bottles can be with or without tops. The bottles don't need to be washed but they should not have any liquid in them. Car oil bottles should be as clean as possible.

Schools are encouraged to use this as an opportunity for you to talk to their students about the importance of recycling and for your students to talk to their parents about this critical issue.

Photos: Courtesy of Ken Snyder - click here for more photos

Recycling Plant in Tepic - photo: Ken Snyder