By City Manager Ken Striplin
We are in uncharted territory. The coronavirus pandemic has impacted almost every aspect of our daily lives.
Many parents now find themselves filling the role of teacher and navigating the challenges of figuring out how to teach common core math. Something not so challenging — is teaching your children how to recycle right.
With the Stay at Home and Safer at Home orders we are currently under here in Santa Clarita, people are spending all day at home, which has led to an increase in residential trash and recycling volume. Use this time to include your family in the goal of recycling right.
The City’s Recycle Hero campaign is the newest public awareness campaign designed to break down recycling myths while encouraging residents to dispose of their waste properly.
In California, the average family home produces as much as 8,700 pounds of trash per year; however, approximately 40% of that waste is not recycled correctly.
We can do better by placing recyclable materials in the recycle bin and leaving items out that don’t belong there.
Basic items like clean paper and cardboard, empty plastic and glass bottles and jars and aluminum and tin cans can easily be recycled and kept out of the landfill.
However, when placing items like batteries, broken furniture, greasy cardboard, extension cords and even plastic bags in the recycle bin, it can wreak havoc on sorting machines and halt the productivity of Santa Clarita’s hard-working waste haulers.
Additional labor and costs are required to place non-recyclable items back on waste trucks for proper disposal. Since this may be a great time for your family to clean and organize, this is also a great time for your family to get involved and become part of the team of Santa Clarita Recycle Heroes!
Whether it’s placing a dedicated bin in the kitchen or sitting the kids down for a quick lesson on bottles and cans, there has never been a better time to learn how to recycle right.
You can even get creative and put a basketball hoop over a dedicated recycling bin and hone your shooting skills while protecting our environment.
We want to see how you are taking part in the City’s fight to recycle right!
Use the hashtag #RecycleHero
SC on social media to show the City how you recycle for a chance to win an opportunity to be featured in a future Recycle Hero ad!
A hero remains strong and brave, even in the face of danger, and with the support of your friends and family, social distancing will not be able to stop you from being a Recycle Hero in Santa Clarita!
To learn more about the Recycle Hero campaign and ways to recycle at home, visit GreenSantaClarita.com. Also, visit our GreenSanta
Clarita Facebook page and send us a direct message if you have any questions.
Ken Striplin can be reached at [email protected]. The views expressed in his column are those of the City and do not necessarily reflect those of The Signal.
