CENTER, MO — A group at the Ralls County Library crushed Saturday morning, as bags filled with aluminum cans for recycling were piled high under the pavilion in the outdoor classroom.
The recycle day was a day-after celebration of Earth Day, although the outdoor classroom is a daily testimony to keeping the Earth clean.
Several years ago, the Friends of the Ralls County Library received a grant from Mark Twain Solid Waste Management District to build an outdoor area using recycled materials.
Part of the fencing around the perimeter and all of the tables are made from recycled tires. The other portion of fencing and the front gate, which just arrived a few weeks ago, is made from aluminum cans.
The Mark Twain Solid Waste Management District, though the Mark Twain Regional Council of Governments, comprises county commissioners from each of the seven counties they serve including Ralls, Marion, Monroe, Pike, Macon, Shelby, Marion and Randolph.
Their goal is to reduce waste by providing assistance through grants to individuals, private and non-profit sectors by promoting recycling in stipulations of the grant.
Wiley Hibbard, presiding commissioner of Ralls County, was on-site helping crush cans and load trucks that would take them to Bowling Green for recycling. Hibbard sits on the board of the Mark Twain Solid Waste Management District and explained that a part of the grant requirement was to educate school children about recycling.
The cans were collected and donated by students in the Ralls County R-II school district and members of the community.
“A stipulation of the grant was that they would educate young people by having them collect the same number of cans that it took to make the fence,” he said.
Hibbard said it might take several recycling days to reach that number, but their hope is that the events will bring awareness to how much good recycling does, and the amount of trash that stays out of landfills by recycling.
The program offers recycling pickups on Wednesdays at the Mark Twain Regional Council of Governments located at 42494 Delaware Lane in Perry, Mo.
Hibbard said they take anything that isn’t biodegradable, such as electronics, aluminum cans, plastic, rubber, paint cans, batteries, cleaning products, etc.
He also said that anyone bringing a large amount of material should call ahead at 573-565-2203.
“Recycling really does make a difference,” he said.
