Drive-Through Recycling

As long as I can remember, our family has recycled.

During my growing-up years when we would drive into downtown Portland for church, we would often stop at Sunshine Recycling on the way in and drop off the goods we had cleaned and sorted the night before. (In true Pacific Northwest form, the chore was no simply "take out the trash" but rather "take out the trash and do the recycling.") The recycling center was located in a rather industrial part of the city and consisted of a small parking lot filled with dumpsters, each designated for a certain material. This was, if its not obvious, in the days prior to the curbside recycling and I'm fairly certain our family's primary motivation was not entirely environmentally motivated. Portland charges for trash based on the size of the trash container and recycling saved us money by allowing us to use a smaller trash can.

(Rabbit trail: why don't all cities charge for trash based on the size of the trash can? I don't know what Wichita does but I know that Boise didn't. When I was living in Boise, we had a neighbor across the street who one day (nearly) literally opened up his garage door, pushed the contents out to the curb, and had it ALL hauled off the next day by the garbage men. He paid the same amount for trash that I we did. Huh.

Charging for the amount of trash each consumer uses not only is more equitable (you only pay for the trash you generate), but it provides an financial cost for the waste we all generate. There is a financial incentive to recycle and/or produce less waste. Let's hear it for sustainability!)

Wichita, being not quite down with the whole recycling thing, does not have a curbside program. My wife, though, has found a location much similar to Sunshine recycling in Portland that you can drop off many types of materials for recycling. This Saturday morning I went for the second time and I must say it works well. The big difference between Sunshine and ProKS Recycling: ProKS is located in a warehouse so there are (very) limited hours it is open to drop things off (and its indoors). Overall the system works well, you drive in, find a parking spot, and take all your pre-sorted goods to the appropriate bins. Sometimes there are volunteers there to expedite the process by pointing you in the right direction or helping you dispose of the items. I don't know if the organization is funded by the city at all or if it is a purely commercial venture but both times I have been there have been plenty of citizens there recycling with me. The first time I went I even had to wait outside until a free parking spot opened up.

The only real thing left to do to make this recycling thing painless is to get some bins set-up here in the house so we can sort on-the-fly. Then, every Saturday morning, we could just grab the bins and make a quick trip to ProKS. Recycling is a very good thing. Yeah for sustainability!