South Strabane looks for glass recycling options
Celeste Van Kirk/Observer-Reporter
Waste Management no longer accepts glass bottles with recyclables.
South Strabane residents are looking for ways to increase recycling, decrease litter and beautify the township.
The newly established Green Team committee, with 10 members, held its first brainstorming session recently, and decided glass was the biggest issue.
Township Supervisor Bracken Burns, who started the Green Team, said that since Waste Management has made the decision to not collect glass, residents across the region have had difficulty finding places to recycle it. He said the committee has discussed possibly holding a monthly glass recycling collection at the township’s municipal building.
“It simply would make a heck of a lot more sense than to have people holding on to their jelly jars for six months before driving up to Bethel Park or something,” he said. “We want to make it as feasible as possible for our residents.”
One date they’ve set so far for glass collection at the municipal building is Nov. 2, but he said they will try to set up additional dates before then.
“Everyone has glass bottles and containers that they use. You don’t want to just throw it away,” said Bill Ursic, an eight-year township resident who serves on the committee. “There’s just no convenient options for residents anymore. We need to look outside the box and come up with new ways to help our residents recycle glass.”
Burns said recycling enforcement in the township lies with the board of supervisors. He said he suspects between 25 and 30% of residents are putting recyclable materials in their trash.
“State law requires you to recycle,” Burns said. “It’s not a suggestion or a good idea – it’s the law.”
He said the township has reached out to the commercial and business community to inquire about recycling efforts – to see who’s recycling and who isn’t.
“It isn’t an option,” Burns said. “We’re not looking for volunteers, we’re looking for compliance.”
Next to the glass problem, the team wants to tackle litter in the township. Ursic said the area around the intersection of Interstates 70 and 79 is heavily littered, but the amount of traffic makes cleanup efforts difficult and dangerous.
“We can work to educate people in hopes to prevent it, but the fact of the matter is that we’re still going to have to engage volunteers to get out there and roll up their sleeves to help clean it up,” he wrote in an email. “So one of our goals will be to organize and promote cleanup efforts and work with local businesses, groups and organizations to assist.”
Burns said the Route 19 corridor and shopping areas also tend to be littered.
“To me, that’s irresponsible,” he said. “We need to care for the Earth and look to the future.”
Mark McCurdy, also on the committee, knows about litter problems. Before moving to South Strabane two years ago, he had an Adopt-A-Highway portion in Center Township, Greene County, for 26 years.
“It’s like painting the Golden Gate Bridge: once you’re done you start over again,” he said.
McCurdy said he recently retired and joined the Green Team as a way to volunteer and give back to the community.
“We need to be stewards of the Earth,” he said.
Similarly, Ursic wanted to be more involved in the township and saw beautification as a “much-needed effort.”
“I take pride in living here, and with the formation of this committee, I feel it will give us a better chance of achieving results if we tackle the problems together,” he said in an email.
Ursic said he wants to see more communication throughout the township about beautification efforts.
“… We need to create a presence on social media as well as other channels to help spread the word on these initiatives,” he said.