RecycleSCHOOLS!
Students help further Sitka’s recycling efforts

RecycleSITKA is getting a lot of help from Sitka students these days. All five schools in the Sitka School District now have students collecting recylables from the classrooms in their buildings and moving them to centrally located bins. In addition to doing the classroom pickup service, two schools are furthering their efforts: students at Baranof Elementary School have collected 2,500 plastic grocery bags since January, and Sitka High School students are working on expanding their programs for recycling aluminum and #1 plastic.

RecycleSITKA is especially excited about the involvement of students because it instills recycling habits in the younger generation, which will provide long-term benefits for Sitka.

Recycling Rules Where to take your items for recycling Large amounts of recyclables Coffee Grounds Compost Benefits of Recycling Results of RecycleSITKA

To avoid contamination in recycling please follow these basic rules....

Metal Cans:  Clean, paper label removed, NO aluminum (soda or beer cans). They go in the large black 350 gallon containers and are donated to the Baranof Barracuda Swim Club.
Shredded Paper: In Plastic/paper bag, no loose shredded paper.
Mixed Paper: All business/office paper, catalogs, magazines, cereal boxes, paper bags, etc, NO paper clips, but desk staples and tape are OK.
Newspaper:  Just newspaper please.
Cardboard: Corrugated cardboard only, large staples removed. NO waxed boxes (fish, milk or vegetable). Boxes must be boxen down.
Glass: Rinsed, caps off (metal or plastic), paper labels are OK.
Plastic Milk Containers (#2 cloudy plastic): Rinsed, flattened and no caps please.

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	There are large containers for all the items listed above at the Marine Services Center on Katlian Street. Lakeside, SeaMart and Market Center have containers for glass and plastic bags. The Jarvis Street Transfer Station has containers for glass and cardboard.
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Large amounts of materials may be taken directly to the Recycling Center at Sawmill Cove Industrial Park Tuesday through Saturday.

In trying to reduce the volume of Sitka's waste stream, RecycleSITKA is trying to remove heavy organic material from the waste stream. Coffee grounds meet several of our criteria...   1) They are very heavy (we pay about 7 cents a pound to ship them to eastern Washington)   2) They are not toxic   3) They have a use right here in Sitka (as a soil additive)

We have set up a bin in the Community Garden area behind Blatchley Middle School. The coffee grounds come from commercial sellers and are there to be used in Sitkans' gardens. We refill the bin every week so if you need more than we have, come back later.

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Another way to reduce organic material in the waste stream is composting. Compost is the organic material left over when microorganisms break down organic waste. It is great for gardens because it is so rich. There is a compost pile located in the back of the Community Garden behind Blatchely Middle School. Sitkans are encourage to bring their compost down if they are not using it for their own gardens. The simplest composts contain leafy or woody material, such as yard waste, uncooked vegetable trimmings, or egg shells. For more complex compost piles, you may want to start a worm bin. Check out what the city has to say about starting a worm bin by clicking here. For an overview of how and what to compost, click here to see what the city says.

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Glass recycled saves the city $150/ton. In 2006 approximately $14,781 was saved by not shipping glass out to the landfill.

Recycled glass is crushed into two products; sand and small shards with rounded edges. These products are available for community members to pickup at the Sawmill Cove Industrial Park Recycling Center. These products can be added to garden soil.

Anything recycled or reused takes those items out of the waste stream and not only saves on costs for transporting the garbage, but conserves resources and energy. Remember that every sheet of paper has two sides. Many useful items can also be made from recycled materials. Also consider buying things with minimum packaging whenever possible, and reuse your bags from the grocery store.

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2004		2005
(in tons)		(in tons)
146.4	MIXED PAPER	168.5
204.1	CARDBOARD	262.6
38.2	NEWSPAPER	28.5
12.1	TIN	14.3
80.9	GLASS	93.8
481.7 Tons total, or 963,400 pounds	TOTAL	567.2 Tons total, (up 85.5  tons), or 1,134,400 pounds

2006		2007
(in tons)		(in tons)
179.68	MIXED PAPER	212.72
266.41	CARDBOARD	334.74
30.04	NEWSPAPER	25.50
14.43	TIN	11.85
98.54	GLASS	32.84
589.09 Tons total (up 22 tons), or 1,178,180 pounds	TOTAL	617.64 Tons total (up 28.55), or 1,235,280 pounds

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