Lake County starts recycling program

POLSON - Save your plastic bottles, cardboard boxes, steel and aluminum cans - a new recycling program is coming to town.

Lake County and the City of Polson received recycling infrastructure grants from the Dept. of Environmental Quality totaling $25,000 and $24,000, respectively. The DEQ awarded $325,000 state-wide.

Polson City Parks Director Karen Sargeant said the grant will cover public bins in all parks for plastic and aluminum cans. There will be a centrally located bin at each school and each city department for all employees to utilize. Large collection bins will be placed in Polson, Ronan and St. Ignatius with a fourth rotating through the county's other towns.

The grant application emphasized a collaborative effort within the community, so Sargeant established a direct partnership with the schools. Expanding their current recycling program, schools will do their own sorting and, eventually, collecting.

"It gives the kids ownership and teaches them to be good stewards," Sargeant said. "Once the kids are converted, the parents will follow."

Mark Nelson, Lake County's Solid Waste Program Manager and president of Recycle Montana, said the goal was to create both an inexpensive, but also convenient, system for the community.

"It's the right thing to do, and we want to do it the right way," he said.

According to Sargeant, the best way to spend grant money is to buy tangible things, rather than employees, because when the money runs out, you must be self-sustaining to support it.

"We want to lead by example and show other towns and cities in Lake County that, yes, we can do this," she said.

As Polson grows, the program should be designed to be flexible enough to grow with it. Nelson said its biggest hurdle will be in educating the public on proper policy, specifically separation. Lids and labels must be removed, cans rinsed and cardboard flattened. Only No. 1 and 2 plastics can be recycled.

The city will order its bins this week, with Coca-Cola's Keep America Beautiful grant providing an additional 50 bins for use during special summer events. The program does not include curbside pick-up.

"People are excited about it," said Sargeant. "We've been wanting to get recycling going... it's amazing how much the city recycles already."