Recycling: What, Why, How

Local residents divert thousands of tons of waste from landfills each year by recycling, but confusion remains over what can be recycled and how it should be done.

Adults can have their questions answered and children can learn while playing games and winning prizes at an event from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 26, at the Solvang Veterans Memorial Hall, 1745 Mission Drive in Solvang.

Experts from local trash haulers Marborg Industries and Waste Management Inc., the Santa Barbara County Public Works Department, and the nonprofit Explore Ecology will give short talks with time for questions, and representatives from many of the two dozen co-sponsors will have informational displays at the event, called “Recycling: What, Why and How.”

“I think we all know why we should recycle … but the what and how and where is the hard part,” said board member Vickie Baehner of WE Watch, the nonprofit organization that is coordinating the event. “We want to help resolve some of the confusion … and kick-start a new awareness and knowledge that will make it easier for folks to follow through with their recycling responsibilities.”

Topics will include what and how to recycle, how to be a smarter shopper, how to identify and handle hazardous wastes, what’s new in recycling, and even how to make money by recycling. People are invited to ask questions and even to bring examples of potentially recyclable materials to find out more about them.

Activities will include giveaways, art projects with recycled materials, games, and a walk through Waste Management’s “Education Box.” Displays will provide information about many topics, including compost and worm bins, “gray water” recycling, and storm-water collection.

One presentation by Marborg and Waste Management will trace the path of recyclables from the home collection bin through Santa Barbara County and beyond.

Others will be tailored specifically to businesses, such as service options for commercial recycling and the process for “green business” certification. Recycling in schools will be another topic, with the aim to “increase diversion in schools by providing education, infrastructure and service adjustments, “ said Sam Dickinson of Santa Barbara County’s Resource Recovery and Waste Management Division.

In addition to WE Watch, a Santa Ynez Valley environmental group, the event is co-sponsored by the presenting organizations, the cities of Buellton and Solvang, local chambers of commerce and other business organizations, and a collection of senior centers, libraries, museums, other nonprofit groups, and service clubs.

The Solvang Veterans Memorial Hall is located at 1745 Mission Drive in Solvang.

For more information, email the event organizer or call 693-1386.