MISSOULA VALLEY RECYCLING; SPRING NEWSLETTER 2009
 What are the “toxic assets” of recycling?
OK, in recycling we call them contaminants. Like plastic lids on the pop and milk jug plastic. Or tape on corrugated cardboard. A phone book is just like newspaper inside, but because of the cover and the glue, it cannot be recycled with newspaper.  Catalogs and books can’t be recycled unless the covers and glued bindings are taken off. Flat cardboard, brown on one side, is considered a contaminate to a bail of corrugated. Generally, the mills for cardboard deal with it, but some are getting more restrictive due to economics. In some states, low grade bales of plastics and paper are taken to the landfill rather than sold. Go to:   www.oregonlive.com/news/index.ssf/2008/11/post_47
Note: Much of our OCC (old corrugated cardboard) is sold locally. In March, Smurfit –Stone announced that they will close for ten days because of low demand for cardboard boxes. In January they filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy.
One of our customers has written a book for Dummies!
Green Business Practices for Dummies, byLisa Swallow, was released on 1/20/09.   This how-to book on sustainable business development might interest someone on your e-mail list, or you might purchase the book yourself at a local bookstore!  Learn more about it on her website: www.lisaswallow.com or come to her book signing event, held at Fact and Fiction on Higgins from 5:30-8:00 on May 1. Shane Clouse will be strumming guitar, she will be signing books, and there will be local treats and libations! OK, be a dummy; help yourself, or a business owner you know, go green.
MVR will be commemorating Earth Day this year with school paper drives, and helping with The Clark Fork Coalition’s River Cleanup day on April 18th at Caras Park. It’s amazing to see how many  Missoula school kids come out to make our river corridor through Missoula clean and free of trash. We will be there to collect the recyclables. Then on Sunday catch the Earth Celebration at Caras Park. http://www.umt.edu/greeningUM/earthweek.htm for more information on both events.
Our Recycling in the Schools (RITS) program will run an advertisement in the Missoula Independent, which will recognize our school sponsors. We will track schools for the amount of paper they recycle this year, as we have noticed an increase in the amount of recyclables. Obviously, more kids and teachers are embracing the habit of recycling.
There will be a new voice on the phone at the MVR office, as Darin has climbed the upwardly mobile ladder into a 40 hour a week job with Winds of Change, a service provider for mentally ill people.  We also have a new blue bin driver, named Chris, and a new office space. We are also working on a face book page for MVR which will feature short clips on sorting, life in the driver’s seat, views of the recycling centers, customer features, and more. It should be fun. If you would like to access any of the websites mentioned above you may find them from our webpage at. www.missoulavalleyrecycling.com