Boulder City has officially made it to the First Anniversary of our City-wide recycling initiative! Last October we kicked off our new single stream recycling program by providing all Boulder City residents with a recycling cart to help collect materials that can eventually be turned into new products, benefitting our community and environment. Residents can place all of their glass, plastic, and paper products directly into their recycling containers. Because all recyclable materials can be placed in the same container and sorted at a facility later, recycling is now easy as well as beneficial.

Mike Pacini of BC Waste Free made an excellent presentation at the September 24th City Council Meeting showing both the City Council and residents the great strides we’ve taken in recycling within the last year. Our friends at BC Waste Free have worked hard to help us get to where we are now through public outreach such as conducting presentations at local schools and the BC Senior Center, sponsoring the 2013 BCHS Girls Softball Program, promoting recycling at BCHS football games, and ensuring major Boulder City events are recycle friendly. They have also been working to make sure all residents are informed by advertising recycling services using social media and direct mailings.

Every year, Americans create 250 tons of trash; most of it ends up in landfills and incinerators, which burn our waste and release pollutants into the air. However, the small changes we make together can really add up to help impact our environment, locally and globally. Mr. Pacini showed us just how hard Boulder City’s residents and business owners have been working to help become a part of this change, in fact, we have increased the volume of recycling in the City by an incredible 140 percent! This adds up to over 4,800,000 pounds of waste that has been kept out of our landfill just in the past year. Boulder City now has over 4,000 homes and 9 out of 10 businesses involved in our single stream recycling program. Not only is this a benefit for our local environment, but it is also adding valuable years of life to our landfill.

Recycling helps to save natural resources and ensures a cleaner and healthier environment for ourselves and future generations. In addition to utilizing BC Waste Free’s recycling containers, we can also decrease the waste we produce by taking simple steps such as reusing plastic bags, buying refillable containers, using energy efficient lighting, and purchasing products made with recycled materials. Don’t forget food waste can also be recycled. Approximately 96% of America’s food waste that could be composted ends up in landfills. By composting food items we not only save valuable landfill space, but we also produce a natural and highly effective fertilizer for our gardens. If you would like more information about Boulder City’s recycling program please visit BC Waste Free online at http://www.bcwastefree.com/ or call them directly at 293-2276. Thank you for ensuring that, “Clean, Green Boulder City,” stays that way for generations to come!

Visit Roger at http://www.bcnv.org/CityCouncil/Tobler.asp.