BBGC Meeting Minutes 8/31/09

The recycling bins at the free barbeque for the Custer County Parade were deemed a success. It was recommended that additional signage be considered next year to increase yield.

Joan Birnie mentioned the Used Tire Collection dates and times upcoming for the month of September for all residents in Blaine, Custer, Garfield, Greeley, Howard, Loup, Sherman, Valley, and Wheeler counties. The date for Broken Bow is 9/9/09 between 9:30 am and 12:00 pm at the Custer Country Highway Department. At this event used tires will be collected (and no limit imposed) but the tires must be counted and off of the rims prior to collection. Electronics will also be recycled including cell phones, iPods, laptops, digital cameras, and camcorders. Anything not on the list of recyclable items. A prize will be given for small electronics.

The subject then turned to pharmaceutical recycling. No known programs are in place for recycling pharmaceuticals, but the Lexington Area Solid Waste Agency will be having collections of household waste in Ansley, Broken Bow, Arnold, Thedford, Mullen, Lexington, Cozad, Gothenburg, and Ogalalla. The Broken Bow pickup will be at the Custer Transfer Station from 3:00 pm to 5:00 pm 9/18/09.

Broken Bow Elementary will be having recycling education within the coming weeks where kindergarteners will be educated regarding recyclables using donated bags of trash. This will also be an object lesson about the amount of trash generated by an average household every week. The plan is to use grocery sacks, possibly reusable as an additional incentive for the parents to use at the grocery store.

Cheryl Taylor recommended keeping the reusable grocery bags in the vehicle in order to help people remember to reuse their grocery bags and decrease the likelihood that they would be forgotten at home.

Lonnie Koepke also mentioned that a highway cleanup project will commence along Highway 2 North to Merna this Saturday 9/5/09 from 9:00 am to 12:00 pm with a free hamburger cookout afterwards for all volunteers.

Kelly Flynn gave an update on the Recycling Center. Plastic recycling prices are very low creating a depressed market He mentioned that his brief analysis of the grants available indicated that not many of the grants were applicable to his recycling center. The National Recycling Coalition is having financial difficulties and wished to merge with Keep America Beautiful but thus far this has been unsuccessful. Consensus opinion was that these are privately funded and the recent economic downturn has hurt membership.

Joan Birnie inquired about the Custer Public Power District meeting regarding the recently approved wind farm installation. Cheryl Taylor discussed the dearth of methane collecting power systems proposed, but wind farms seem to have a large interest. Currently, there is no separation of traditional power from electricity from renewable resources and a large portion of the wind power generated by this wind farm installation will likely be sold on the open market and transported across state lines.

The next proposed meeting of the Broken Bow Green Coalition is 9/29/09 at 7:00 pm at the Broken Bow Chamber Office.