Motivation to Recycle

Following up our post on motivating people to recycle, Stewart Wilson contributed this article about a field trip last fall. 
Would a trip like this for adults be a motivator?

Loree Duczek explains to students how clean waste wood can recycled into wood chips,
and used pop cans can be recycled too.

Grade 3 students and some of their parents from Gordon Terrace Elementary had an unforgettable field trip last October, arranged by Loree Duczek, Communications Manager at RDEK, where they learned about the 3 Rs – Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle.

First they visited the Transfer Station where everyone dropped off items to be recycled including newspapers, mixed paper, cardboard, tin, and plastics #1 to 6 in the yellow bins. Any glass was put in a separate container. Then it was off to the Recycling Centre where they saw what happens to all the recycled materials once the bins are emptied. Paper, cardboard, tin and plastics are sorted then baled ready for transportation to large centres, where they are turned into recycled products. They also saw a large pile of crushed glass, which is sent to Airdrie in Alberta. Afterwards it may be added to some paints used in marking centre lines on roads and highways and other uses.

Next they visited the Processing Plant where bottles, cans and juice containers are taken for recycling from all over the East and West Kootenays. The highlight was watching plastic bottles being shot from a pipe into a netted area before being ground into plastic chips.Their final destination was the Regional Landfill on the road to Fort Steele, where all the garbage in the local area including Cranbrook and Kimberley is taken and buried. The landfill is divided into sections, and the whole operation is carefully managed to ensure that it will serve the area for up to 50 years. Each day several trailer loads of garbage are brought to the site, where a compactor crushes the contents, which are then buried under a layer of soil. After a section is filled, it is closed and a new site prepared in another area of the landfill. However, there is a great deal of recycling done at the landfill including making waste wood into wood chips for lining local walking trails. Garden and yard waste is composted. Piles of concrete, shingles, and tires will eventually be ground up and reused for a variety projects.


All the grade 3 students who took part in the field trip would like to encourage everyone to do their bit for the environment by REUSING, REDUCING and RECYCLING their waste whenever possible.

Would adult tours of the Transfer Station have an impact as it did on these Gordon Terrace Students?  What do you think?