Talking Trash

Facebook has slowly morphed into a forum where pets, organizations, and products now have their own profiles. Recently, a friend’s Labrador requested that I “friend” it. So I shouldn’t be surprised that I am now “friends” with my household trash. Funny thing is, I’m not alone – as of late December, 77 other people have befriended “Talk Trash Spokane,” a Facebook profile recently created by the Spokane Regional Solid Waste System to help educate residents about reducing garbage and increasing recycling. The friendship so far has given me so much valuable information that I wonder why I ever let my trash leave the curb without extending a polite greeting. The Facebook profile offers tips on buying local, green gift ideas, how to recycle certain less-obvious items, ways to reduce waste, etc., and does so through back and forth Q and A with “friends,” plus informational videos and links. The social networking is actually just one facet of the “Let’s Talk Trash” outreach effort. Billboards, television commercials, and a new web site http://talktrashspokane.com are also components of the campaign to clean up Spokane. SRSWS was formed by interlocal agreement in 1998 to manage all of Spokane County’s garbage. Recycling and reuse was one component of its management plan. Robyn Dunlap, SRSWS’s public information coordinator, says that a primary reason for the “Lets Talk Trash” campaign is to prepare residents for changes that will come with Spokane’s new single-stream recycling center, scheduled to be built and running by October 2012. “We learned about the new facility about a year ago,” she said. “We realized that there needed to be a lot of public education to prepare folks for the changes that would be happening.” The most noteworthy change is that residents and businesses will be able to throw all recyclables into a single, lidded roller cart (similar to the clean green containers) with no sorting or segregating required. The City of Spokane and Waste Management expect that this convenience will significantly increase participation in recycling. Another component of the new Spokane Material and Recycling Technology (SMART) Center is that it will process items not currently accepted for recycling, such as: more plastic containers, tubs, milk cartons, juice boxes, all paper products, cereal boxes, beverage boxes, glass bottles, jars, tin and aluminum cans, and small scrap metal, including old pots and pans, foil and pie tins. In the Oct. 26, 2011, press release for the facility groundbreaking, the City and Waste Management reported that the Center is expected to increase the amount of recyclables collected in the region by more than 40 percent and to inject more than $46 million into the local economy during the first five years, including 45-50 permanent jobs. You can see some of these jobs in action by clicking on the following Waste Management video, which demonstrates how single-stream recycling works: www.thinkgreen.com/video-recycling-single-stream. According to the City and Waste Management, the new 62,000-square-foot Center will be capable of processing 26 tons of mixed recyclables per hour and up to 90,000 tons per year. Currently, Spokane County residents and businesses generate over 563,000 tons of solid waste annually. The goal of the “Lets Talk Trash” campaign is to reduce that number and to increase the amount going to the SMART Center. Residents can expect to see two phases of this campaign, explains Dunlap. “The first phase, which we’re in now, is intended to heighten awareness of recycling in general and to build more participation from the public. The second phase, which we expect to begin in summer 2012, will talk about the new recycling program, all the additional materials that will be acceptable, and how recycling will be easier than ever.” So far, Dunlap is pleased by how many people are “Talking Trash.” “Folks are paying attention and seem to appreciate the reminders of how important and easy it is to recycle,” she says.