What draws us to rural Kansas, and what keeps us here? Ask around, and inevitably one hears a variation on a theme: It’s beautiful.
The rolling hills, big skies, hidden creeks. The way the cottonwoods sound as the wind blows. We may not have mountains, but hey — we don’t really need ‘em.
Such natural beauty is more than scenic. In Iola and Allen County, nature’s economic impact cannot be ignored: our extensive trail system and new state park create unique opportunities for growth.
Simple truths emerge: caring for our environment makes sense. It’s part of who we are. And it’s why now is the time to create a new recycling program in Allen County.
AT THEIR BEST, governments accomplish what we can’t as individuals. When it comes to recycling, the case is clear: volunteers can’t handle the load. Iola’s Rotary Club, whose volunteers since 1995 sustained a community recycling program, tired. The same goes for Allen County Recycling, which has paused its efforts. They are victims of their own success. They also offer a clear lesson: our residents want to recycle, but they can’t do it alone.
As Allen County labors to attract new residents, recycling should be a part of the puzzle. It’s a quality of life issue; increasingly, Americans expect access to recycling.
How can we ask future residents to invest in our communities if we don’t do the same? Can we honestly promote our stunning state park and trail systems while we dump everything we produce into the ground?
A FEW things about trash in the United States:
First, we are producing more of it than ever before. The average American generates about five pounds of trash per day, a 34% increase since 1980. Blame online shopping; over a quarter of all garbage in the United States is packaging and containers.
And landfills are major contaminants. According to the University of Michigan’s Center for Sustainable Systems, landfills were the third largest source of human-made methane gas in the United States in 2020.
That same year, Allen County’s landfill accepted about 12,600 tons of garbage from county residents alone. It goes to figure that if we are producing more trash, and not recycling any of it, that number is bound to increase.
At the same time, Americans are recycling more. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, only 17% of paper was recycled in 1960; that’s jumped up to 68% now. The same goes for glass, batteries and plastic.
The number of curbside recycling programs in the U.S. has increased more than ninefold since 1988. The EPA estimates more than 70% of Americans have access to curbside recycling programs, and the American Forest & Paper Association reports 94% of Americans have some kind of access to recycling paper, whether that be via a drop-off center or curbside recycling, up from 82% in 1997.
WITH no group coordinating recycling efforts, the current moment offers an opportunity to start fresh. Yes, there are messy details: who will take the recyclables to Burlington? Who will sort them? Will there be a fee? But that’s what government’s for: to solve tough problems.
Our recommendation is to start small. Perhaps a drop-off center that accepts only glass, paper, cardboard and aluminum. Easy enough to sort, and Coffey County’s recycling center will accept the materials.
