Event recycling a success in town

Bikers must use a lot of cardboard…

The first year of the Crested Butte initiative to have large events do more recycling has been a resounding success. Literally tons of cardboard and recyclables have been kept from being buried with the trash at the Gunnison County landfill as a result of the new recycling focus. Spearheaded by Crested Butte Deputy Town Clerk Carmen Bell, the focus on recycling during special events started this summer. “The amount of recycling we accomplished in the first year was amazing,” Bell said. “Hopefully it will only get better.”
In a report to the Town Council, Bell said the July 4 festivities were used as a pilot program “and as the numbers clearly reflect, the amount of cardboard and mixed recyclables that were kept out of the landfill was huge.”
Mixed recycling includes aluminum, tin, plastics 1 and 2, glass (brown, green and clear), newspaper, magazines and office pack.
According to Bell’s report, 1.5 tons of cardboard and 25 cubic yards of mixed recycling were collected during the Fourth of July. At the Arts Festival, she said, 1.1 tons of cardboard and 21 cubic yards of mixed recyclables were taken away. The smallest amount came from the Bridges of the Butte event, where .4 tons of cardboard and two cubic yards of mixed recyclables were collected. The largest event was Fat Tire Bike Week and the Bicycle Tour of Colorado, where a whopping 18 tons of cardboard and 16 cubic yards of mixed recyclables were gathered.
“Hopefully we can use these numbers as a base and increase the program every year,” said Bell. “It went really well this past summer. I wasn’t necessarily surprised but the numbers were pretty impressive. We knew the problem was there and we just needed to tackle it. We are on the right track.”
Bell said many of the larger events contracted with Gothic Mountain Waste Solutions (GMWS) to take care of the recycling. GMWS owner Andrew Shoup said it was a good first summer for large event recycling. “We learned a lot with these events last summer,” he said. “We are looking at ways to improve it next year.”
Bell said different approaches to recycling could work for the various events in Crested Butte. “In administering the special event permitting process, I encouraged special event applicants to be creative in their approach to decreasing refuse and increasing recycling,” Bell said. “For example, KBUT offered $1 off admission to their Fish Fry for participants who brought and utilized their own plates and utensils.”
Shoup sent a letter to the council outlining additional recycling efforts. It stated that the company has taken 49 tons of cardboards and 600 cubic yards of recycling from Crested Butte Mountain Resort to the Gunnison County recycling center since November 2008. Seven tons of cardboard and 170 cubic yards of mixed recyclables have been taken from the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory.
“Our community as a whole has been extremely supportive in the recycling efforts,” Shoup said. “We are encouraged by the numbers, both with the events and in general. This past summer was in part educational and it will all hopefully grow in the future.”
Bell agrees. “I think the town and the event holders have made a big step in the right direction after just one special event season,” Bell informed the council. “The staff plans on continuing the current practice of requiring a detailed trash plan that emphasizes decreased refuse and increased recycling for the next special event season.”
This week, Bell sent letters to every event organizer in Crested Butte about the recycling program. “Everyone did a great job and now we can start having a bank of different ideas to continue the recycling efforts.”
Shoup said the feedback from the county recycling center has been good. “The amount and quality of the recycling has been good up here,” he said. “This community understands recycling and isn’t just mixing trash and recyclables. We are in a great position to make it even better.”