New Hanover County is inviting residents to find out what happens to their recyclables.
As part of America Recycles Day this Thursday—a program of Keep America Beautiful—New Hanover County will be offering tours of its recycling facility at the former WASTEC site at 3002 U.S. 421 North.
The facility will soon feature a three-person sorting station housed in the shuttered Waste to Energy plant, according to a release from the county. Tour participants can learn how the new sorting station will remove cans, bottles and other recyclables from the waste stream while increasing revenue for the county’s environmental management services.
Public tours will be given Thursday, Nov. 15, at 9 and 10:30 a.m. and 12:30 and 2 p.m. Schools and larger groups are asked to call ahead to reserve space.
According to the county:
– 12.5 pounds of waste is created every second in New Hanover County.
– For every ton of paper recycled, 17 trees are saved.
– It takes 90 percent less energy to recycle aluminum cans than making them from raw material.
– Every day, U.S. papermakers recycle enough paper to fill a line of train boxcars 15 miles long.
– Energy saved from recycling one glass bottle could operate a 100-watt light bulb for four hours.
– During the 2010-11 fiscal year, the operating expense for the recycling division was $728,138, which was $72,081 under budget. The revenue earned for the baled materials, glass bottles and aluminum cans was $391,899. The volume of recyclable materials processed was 14,361,240 pounds, which saved over 11,000 cubic yards of space at the landfill.
Residents can see what materials can be recycled and where they can deposit their recyclables at these websites:
– New Hanover County (Unincorporated Area) Drop-off Locations
For more information or to arrange a special tour, residents should call Lynn Bestul, recycling manager, at 798-4410.
