Recycling center turns Moody's 'garbage into gold'

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Parker Gyokeres
  • 23rd Wing Public Affairs
MOODY AIR FORCE BASE, Ga. --  An average American creates 585 tons of garbage in their lifetime, according to base recycling officials. 

As landfills fill up and resources become more expensive, it is more important than ever to recycle, said Terry Hendricks, Slone Associates Inc., project manager for the waste and recycling program. 

With Moody Air Force Base generating 170,000 pounds of trash each month, Mr. Hendricks urges the base populace to be aware many things thrown away can probably be recycled. 

Additionally, according to Air Force Instruction 32-7080, Pollution Prevention Program, mandates recycling for all Air Force members and civilian employees. 

The most common recyclable assets Hendricks sees in the trash are paper products and plastics, he said. This includes plastic toy packaging. 

"More than 90 percent of plastic consumer products are recyclable," he said. "If it is plastic and has a screw top, toss it in a bin. If you are curious if larger plastic items are suitable for recycling, just look for the triangle symbol on the bottom. 

"And if it has a number on it between one and seven, we can take it," said Mr. Hendricks. "If you aren't sure, or can't find a symbol, let the Recycling Center figure it out for you." 

Moody's recycling center is currently recycling about 36 percent of its waste stream into revenue for the base. The Air Force goal is 40 percent, said Mr. Hendricks. 

All paper products, including magazines, shiny printed cardboard and bags of shredded paper, can be recycled in blue cans located in nearly every base office. 

For larger cardboard items, there are numerous labeled recycling dumpsters located at various points around the base. 

"The base is currently recycling around 100,000 pounds of materials each month," said Mr. Hendricks. "During the summer, we see a lot more plastic drinking containers. In the winter we tend to handle a lot more packaging materials, as everyone ships packages and purchases gifts." 

After an item is dropped into a recycling bin and brought back to the Recycling Center, the materials are sorted and sold to different businesses in Georgia. 

All proceeds from the sales of recycled materials are returned to the Qualified Recycling Program at Moody, said William Fowler, 23rd Civil Engineer Squadron QRP manager. In 2006, the program received more than $16,000 from the sale of recyclable commodities. 

"One of the major benefits of recycling is we do not have to pay to remove this waste," said Mr. Fowler. "It costs the base $37 per-ton to dump trash in the landfill. With recyclable materials, businesses pay to haul it away for us. 

Not only does recycling conserve raw materials, it saves large amounts of energy that would be used to create a new item, said Mr. Hendricks. 

Aluminum can recycling saves 95 percent of the energy needed to make aluminum from ore. Making tin cans from recycled steel uses only one-fourth of the energy needed to make them from new steel. Recycling one glass bottle saves enough energy to power your television for three hours. 

"So the next time you head to the trash can with a pile of junk mail or a broken Frisbee, ask yourself if you can recycle it," said Mr. Hendricks. "The answer is probably going to be yes."