The Haines Brewing Company recycles glass by refilling my growler. That is true recycling. Skyline Drive residents recently learned about another Haines-style “glass recycling” program. I applaud the Haines Borough Assembly and manager David Sosa for enforcement against nuisance, partially shattered glass jars and bottles being rebranded as eco-fill. This borough action is the first waste-related enforcement that I recall in my 20 years as a resident. I believe we should band together and purchase a proper, value-adding glass pulverizer. Alternatively, glass should go into our state-regulated landfill. How we handle our glass is a 70-ton-per-year opportunity.
The Haines waste system is, basically, self-haul-driven and that spawns some very high opportunity costs, including: trashed out fish streams and roadsides, high charges for collection caused by low participation in collection services, rampant theft of dumpster service, and no financial leverage to support innovation and exploit emerging markets.
Over 60 percent of Haines municipal waste can be recycled, including 600 tons per year of single-stream recyclables (includes all numbered plastics) and another 400 tons of compostable materials. Today, the per-ton total cost to collect and export single-stream recyclables is significantly lower than the per-ton total cost to collect and export trash. That sounds like a huge opportunity to me! But under our current competitive, self-haul-driven model, we can’t get there. Let’s end the division, band together under Haines Borough leadership, and create a cost effective and environmentally sustainable waste management and recycling system.
Burl Sheldon