RECYCLING: SIMPLE SUBJECT OF SERIOUS CONCERN

Say recycle and some adults' eyes glaze, but for many children -- plus growing numbers of grown-ups -- it is a simple subject of serious concern.

"A lot of kids are responsible for recycling at their house. It's their future and they know it," said Pam Sander, customer service coordinator for the City of Cape Girardeau Public Works Department, Solid Waste Division.

In Betty Landre's second-grade class at Clippard Elementary, recycling is part of a weekly routine. The class prepares cardboard boxes for recycling and places them into a bin. "I want to get them in the habit of breaking the cardboard down and putting it into the container," Landre said.

That hands-on experience transfers to the homefront, often in the form of children urging parents to recycle.

"We do all we can to encourage our kids to get their parents to recycle at home," Landre said. "We're training the children to train their parents."

Young people are developing interest in the wise use of resources in many youth organizations, too. For instance, using resources wisely is part of the Girl Scout Law, noted Laura Hinkebein, fund development/marketing director for Otahki Girl Scout Council.

The local council began its newspaper recycling program in the Cape Girardeau area in 1993 as a collaborative effort with BFI Recycling, Hinkebein explained. Last year, that effort saw the recycling of some 115 tons, while 67 tons have been recycled through the project already this year.

Girl Scout-sponsored recycling dates are scheduled throughout the year. Several are set for May.

It was during her involvement in leading youth in recycling projects that Jean Bollinger began putting the practice into use in her Cape Girardeau home.

Bollinger worked with Girl Scouts and later a church youth group in recycling efforts. From those experiences, her family has been recycling their waste products for nearly a decade.

"It's so much habit now, I don't even think about it anymore," Bollinger said. "I rinse the containers out, set them in the drainer, and as one of us goes downstairs, we take what needs to go down," she noted.

When the Bollinger family began recycling, the process wasn't as convenient as it is now. "Now that they're picking up at the curb, it's just wonderful," she said.

Cape Girardeau launched its curbside recycling program for residential customers in 1991. "We currently have a curbside participation rate of about 25 percent," Sander said. Through the curbside service, "we currently are picking up more than 2.5 million pounds per year."

Those figures do not include the recyclables that are taken to the city's 120 N. Broadview recycling drop-off area by residential customers and apartment dwellers. "We have a lot of people that bring in recyclables to our drop-off," Sander said.

The city provides weekly residential curbside pickup of newspapers, magazines, catalogues, plastic, aluminum, steel, tin, corrugated cardboard, glass and brown Kraft bags. Recyclables are picked up on a schedule separate from regular trash collection.

In the program's early years, the list of products the city would collect for recycling was shorter. As the list has grown, so has household participation, Sander said.

Hopes are the trend will continue. Mixed paper may be added to the list of products the city will pick up for recycling this summer. "That would include junk mail, computer paper, notebook paper and gray board -- cereal boxes, cracker boxes and shoe boxes," Sander explained. As plans progress, city residents will receive information with their billing.

City residential customers receive curbside recycling services as part of their monthly waste collection fee. "We're going to come by your house every week, whether or not you're using it," Sander said.

People find all kinds of reasons for not recycling, those involved in efforts to promote the conservation effort say. Overall, said Glenda Quinn, "I think we're the generation of waste, and we just don't see the significance." Quinn of Cape Girardeau has played an integral role in promoting recycling locally.

As the coming generation matures, Quinn believes so will attitudes about recycling. "You'll see the kids in school, as they get older, accept it as an everyday thing," she said.

Recycling Basics

From City of Cape Girardeau residential collection system rules.

-- Recyclables must be placed and separated in brown paper (Kraft) grocery bags or plastic bags and placed in a container that allows for separation, access and content identification.

-- Recyclables must be separated and free of contaminates.

-- All recyclables must be placed at the curb in a manner that will prevent blowing of recyclables.

For recycling guidelines within the City of Cape Girardeau, call 334-9151.