My Trip to Australia, Part 2: Recycling

Kristen Aubut

My husband’s grandmother’s house sits on a country road way out in the middle of nowhere. Still, her house has curbside recycling collection.

Her recycling can is slightly larger than her garbage can. I have always thought that a lot can be determined about a community based on the size of its recycling bin. Stamped on top of the yellow recycling can lid is a list of the recyclables accepted: paper, cardboard, glass bottles and jars, aluminum and steel cans, aerosol cans, juice and milk cartons, and all plastic containers #1-7. Stamped on the red garbage can lid is the statement “No Recyclables.”
Recycling seemed to be very accessible even while out-and-about. I found these neat looking rubbish (garbage) and recycling cans at a mall. From what I saw during my visit, every rubbish can was accompanied by a recycling container. The two went hand-in-hand. And, yes, I was the odd tourist taking pictures of the rubbish containers.

We drove past the Taree Recycling Center. Unfortunately, I didn’t have time to tour the inside. This recycling center is where my husband’s aunt’s recyclables are taken for sorting.

This paper recycling container is inside a subway station in Sydney. I like that the containers are clear. Maybe it discourages people from throwing garbage in because others will see it!

Recycling seemed to be a top priority for most Australians, with recycling being accessible whether at home or on-the-go.

Millbrook Exchange Community Center Recycling Case Study

By Kristen Aubut

Director: Billy Aubut

Assistant Director: Staci Sawyer

1905 Spring Forest Road
Raleigh, NC 27615
(919) 872-4156
billy.aubut@raleighnc.gov

Millbrook Exchange Community Center has provided recreation services to Raleigh residents since 1972. With thousands of visitors to the park each year, Millbrook Exchange has to manage a lot of waste. MECC Director Billy Aubut estimates that, of all the waste generated at his park, paper is the most abundant waste material. Fortunately, this paper, and much of the park’s other waste, can be recycled. Billy and Assistant Director Staci Sawyer have taken it upon themselves to see that the waste generated at their facility is disposed of in the most environmentally sustainable manner.

“There is no sense in a bottle, can or piece of cardboard just sitting in the landfill. Why not make those materials into something new?” said Aubut. “Millbrook is setting a recycling standard that we hope other community center directors will begin to live up to.”

Through the Recycling in the Parks program, Raleigh Solid Waste Services (SWS) provided Millbrook Exchange with outdoor recycling containers for aluminum cans and plastic bottles. These containers sit in two locations around the park and are emptied weekly by Raleigh SWS. Click here for a list of other Raleigh Parks and Recreation facilities participating in the Recycling in the Parks Program.

Once the plastic bottle landfill ban went into effect in North Carolina in October 2009, Aubut and Sawyer wanted to make sure visitors had access to recycling inside the building as well. Aubut cut a hole just the size of a can or bottle in a trashcan lid and placed the lid on a blue container labeled Recycle Here. The container sits just outside the basketball gym doors for easy access by gym participants. Posted on the wall above the container is a flier encouraging visitors to recycle.
Aubut created this flier using images he received from Raleigh SWS.


Aubut and Sawyer also made sure that all community center staff members have easy access to paper and cardboard recycling in the office. Under each desk, they placed small blue recycling containers for paper collection. Cardboard is piled up and kept out of the way in a closet. Staff members know that their supervisors are on the lookout for recyclables in the trashcan!

Millbrook Exchange Community Center generates about two large bags of recycling each week. Every other week, Aubut and Sawyer take turns emptying the contents of the indoor recycling containers. When it is Aubut’s week, he tosses the bagged recyclables in his trunk. On the way home from work, he goes by either the Jaycee Recycling Convenience Center or the North Wake Multi-Material Recycling Facility. Aubut says it only takes about 10 minutes to empty the materials into the containers, and then he is on his way. Recycling does take some effort, but Aubut knows it is worth it.

Aubut and Sawyer hope that their recycling efforts will inspire their fellow community center directors to make recycling a priority in their own facilities.

The North Carolina Division of Environmental Assistance and Outreach has an abundance of resources to help you begin or maintain your recycling efforts at home, at work or on-the-go. Find these resources on our Recycle Guys, Recycle More NC, and RE3.org websites.

Recycling on the Go - #binhere

Guest Blogger – Clare Estes

We’ve recently started promoting the “recycle on the go” message. It’s the next step in our push for citizens to recycle no matter where they are. But we’re aware that convenience is a huge factor for people to recycle. For many, if there’s not a bin in sight, their empty bottle or can goes right into the nearest trash receptacle. No amount of RE3.org key chains, visits from Can Guy or puppy dog eyes that we flutter can change that.

We’ve come up with an idea to help North Carolinians on the go find a bin nearby. It involves one of our favorite social media sites: Twitter (If you’ve not realized by now, we’re social media addicts. If you need a social media catch-up, check out a few of our webinars here.

We’re using the #hashtag function to help people find a bin. If you’re unfamiliar with the #hashtag purpose in Twitter, it’s used to group together tweets or conversations of a similar topic. For example, during most of June the #worldcup #hashtag was very popular. If you had anything to say about the World Cup on Twitter, you could include #worldcup in your tweet and it was added to the millions of other tweets about the World Cup. Or, if you were interested in what the Twitterverse was saying about the World Cup, you click on a #worldcup #hashtag and read the tweets of anyone who included “#worldcup“ in their tweet.

We want you, your friends, your mom, everyone to start using “#binhere” on Twitter when you see a recycling bin when you’re out and about. Here’s a recent example tweeted by yours truly: “#binhere #Dunn Rite-Aid. It’s a Pepsi Dream Machine.” I used a #hashtag for both the #binhere and for the town, Dunn. That way if people are searching for bins using #binhere or looking at what’s being said about Dunn on Twitter, they see my tweet.

You might be wondering “I don’t have a smart phone” or “you lost me at social media.” Well, there’s no harm in posting or searching #binhere tweets at home. And we are creating a website that archives all the #binhere tweets, so if you are visiting a town and can’t find a recycling location, you will soon be able to search this website to see if it is listed.

But this idea won’t work unless lots of people use #binhere. Don’t get me wrong, our interns probably contribute to a lot of the Twitter overload “fail whales,” but we can’t turn #binhere into a phenomenon alone. So here’s my challenge to those of you on Twitter (or those thinking about taking the plunge): post a #binhere tweet once a month. If at least one of your followers learns where a bin is or posts a #binhere tweet it’s worth it. It might not be the same as putting a bin beside every trash can, but it’s a start in the right direction to get people to recycle when they’re out and about.

Photo Blog 6 - Everyone say ahhhhhh . . .

I love this great mural that was painted on some New Zealand recycling station bins. Can’t say it isn’t attention grabbing.

Photo Blog 1 - Bins, Bins, Bins

My next few posts are going to be photo blogs. Hope you enjoy.

1. Cisco
Last month I was fortunate enough to be invited to a meeting at Cisco about social media and internet marketing. I learned a lot. If you think you now understand Web 2.0, just wait for Web 3.0. Read more about it here. I also got a great tip. Visit Universal McCann Marketing Agency for lots of info about social media and social networking.

Can you believe how nice Cisco's recycling bins were?















2. Charlotte Convention Center
I was at the Charlotte Convention Center recently for a science teachers conference. While in the exhibit hall I noticed these recycling bins. Unfortunately they were not labeled. They did have these nice banners hanging above them. Learn more about the convention center’s recycling program from the Glass Packaging Institute’s article here.

Monofilament Recycling

Last year when visiting FL, I found these monofilament (fishing line) recycling stations on the beach. It turns out, we have them in NC also.

Big Sweep staff has installed monofilament line recycling containers at 86 marinas in Alamance, Beaufort, Brunswick, Burke, Camden, Carteret, Caswell, Catawba, Cherokee, Chowan, Craven, Currituck, Davidson, Durham, Guilford, Hyde, Iredell, Lincoln, Mecklenburg, New Hanover, Northampton, Onslow, Pamlico, Pasquotank, Pender, Perquimans, Rockingham, Rowan, Stanly, Tyrrell, Vance, Wake, Warren and Washington counties. Congrats!

Of course I have more recycle bin pictures

Since I’ve been doing quite a bit of traveling lately, I have a number of recycling bin pictures to post.

McDowell County Internal Recycling. Gotta love these signs, plus all the different holes each container has.











Greensboro Convention Center. Shiny - very nice container!









Wilson County DOT Fueling Station. Who says the state doesn't recycle?

Airport Recycling

I know my loyal readers must have been wondering why I didn’t have any posts last week. Well, I was once again traveling. I attended the Missouri/Arkansas Recycling Conference. Good times. Hello to all my Midwestern peeps!





During my travels I got excited when I saw recycling bins at the Raleigh Durham Airport, the Charlotte Airport and the Kansas City Airport. Even a few years ago this was rare. For more information about airport recycling check out this EPA page.









I must say the flight I took on ExpressJet also recycled material while in the air. Makes me think of my senior research paper where I set up a recycling program for a now defunct airline that used to fly out of RDU. Shout out to Dr. Blank for letting me do such an out-of-the-box project.

“On the road again, just can’t wait to get on the road again . . . .”

I am headed west again. Can’t wait to see the leaves change. I scheduled this work trip at a perfect time.

Speaking of traveling did you know they recycle in the Charlotte Airport? I have the picture to prove it.

Recycling Bin pictures from my travels

I travel quite a bit for business and pleasure and decided to start taking pictures of recycling bins while I am out and about. This is similar to my personal hobby of taking water tower pictures but more work related and possibly interesting for folks that read this blog. You tell me.

-Monofilament recycling at the beach in Pinellas County, FL


















-Eno River Festival event recycling in Durham, NC