MVR FALL NEWSLETTER 2006

Printer Cartriges
We are now recycling used up printer cartridges. They will go to Northwest Ink to be refilled. Please keep them from the weather or put them in a plastic bag. (Just like your peanuts and used clothing).

Holidays
If your pickup day is on a holiday this quarter, we will give you a call to let you know that we will be there the following day. (Remember, Andy appreciates your holiday tips!)

Darin and Tom have been working on our Recycling in the Schools program. Please read the attached newsletter and contribution agreement to learn more. We’re also trying to win customers by flyering some neighborhoods. We lost many customers after we stopped collecting glass. From a practical standpoint, glass recycling here in Montana, wastes energy. It’s like… would you drive a plastic bottle across town to save oil?

We have a new blue bin driver, a student named Elias. His enthusiasm energizes all of us, and he’s also working on outside projects related to MVR. One is a survey meant to discover attitudes regarding why people do or don’t recycle. Another is an idea for a customer appreciation party… Yee Haa..

Pet Peeves
At our last office meeting, we talked about respecting someone’s “pet peeves”. As a recycler, you are often confronting attitudes about recycling. On our routes, we drive through alleys on garbage day, seeing all the recyclable trash that people throw away. The same is true for businesses, government offices, many large companies, and many restaurants that don’t recycle. Many say they are committed to the community, they have employees that would like to recycle at the workplace, and many of their customers would like them to recycle (like at the ballgames, fairs, and special events at Caras Park) Perhaps Elias’s survey can help us understand more about why people don’t recycle. Is it economics? (“too cheap”) Negative attitudes? Lack of personal energy? ( “lazyness”)
We’ll post the results on our webpage when he’s finished!

This November 15th is America Recycles Day. We could list the many reasons to recycle America’s number one manufactured product, but that would be preaching to the choir wouldn’t it? So how do we as individuals or a society encourage recycling? Education? Yes. Example? Yes. Cooperation? YES. Why not expect recycling from our government, businesses, and vendors? Ask them “Where is the recycling bin?” Or “Do you recycle?” You can access the business and government entities that recycle in Missoula by looking at our webpage under “Recycling Community”. Notice that there is only one newspaper!? One printer too- recycling about 1000 pounds of paper per week.

One of my pet peeves is to be told, “My customers don’t care if I recycle or not.”