BERKELEY COMMUNITY PRIDE, INC.
P R E S I D E N T ' S M E S S A G E
Wow, what a year! Berkeley Community Pride continues to grow. Building on our core projects related to litter reduction, we have increased our activities in other areas related to responsible environmental citizenship: increasing public awareness of recycling to reduce waste and promote renewable resources; and, educating children in the value of these activities.
Berkeley Community Pride held its annual meeting on Jan. 10, 2007 in the conference room of Jefferson Distributing. Our first order of business was nominating, then electing, our new Board members: Chris Lundberg, Diane Armentrout, Mark Andrews, Dave Ranck and Nic Diehl. We are excited to add these new and enthusiastic members who will work with our returning Board members to serve our community.
We say a special thanks to founding Board member Craig Blair, Bill Stubblefield, and Jim Gassler for their committed service to BCP for the past four years. We particularly noted the vision and hard work of Bill Stubblefield, past president of BCP, for his efforts in getting the group started.
We have some great accomplishments from 2006 to provide impetus for 2007:
♦Jerry Kremer talked about the grocery bag project, where students in Berkeley County public and private elementary schools draw anti-litter, pro-Earth Day messages. This project has grown tremendously: from nearly 2,500 bags decorated in 2005 to almost 4,500 that were completed by students last year. BCP was pleased to be able to donate $1,600 to participating area schools for the project.
♦Jim Linsenmeyer reported on the science fair judging and award project for 2006. Awards totaling $900 were given to elementary, middle/intermediate, and high school students for science fair projects demonstrating excellence in the area of environmental science.
♦Two major litter reduction pickups were held again in 2006: one in the Spring as part of West Virginia statewide Adopt a Highway Day and the United Way Day of Caring in the fall. 65 volunteers in the Spring and 95 participants on the Day of Caring combined to collect over 425 large bags of litter and a lot of other miscellaneous junk, including 40 tires. The live snake that was picked up in the Spring collection was returned to his home in the brush!
♦Bob Williamson reported on the ever-increasing success of the recycling/mall pickups. Since 2004, approximately 127,579 pounds have been collected and recycled. The total funds raised from these collections, over $4,700, have been a big reason that BCP has been abler to initiate so many in-school projects. This year, there will be six mall collections, up from five last year: the second Saturday, every other month starting the 13th of January.
♦The South Middle School recycling project is going very well. Students have been energized to recycle items and a Recycling Club has been established. A column written by students in the Club will be started in the Kids Living section of The Journal.
2007 Goals:
♦Maintain and grow our core projects: litter reduction, open dump cleanups, educational programs, and recycling promotion projects.
♦We also need to do more work on enforcement. We discussed a "Dump Busters" initiative whereby members and other community volunteers could join the Sheriff's Department Deputy Reserves, be trained and assigned to enforce illegal dumping ordinances.
♦Public Policy Initiatives: BCP will take a more active stance taken on issues like trash fees, curbside recycling and fully funding the Sheriff's Department.
♦Members also talked about more education ideas, such as a poster contest and calendar to be printed.
Working together we ARE making a difference!
Ron Gunderson
President, Berkeley Community Pride
As you know, I continue to believe that the Berkeley County SWA should operate a publicly owned commercial solid waste facility (Commercial C & D landfill, or Commercial transfer station, or Commercial recycling facility or some combination thereof). In fact, we are activly seeking funds to conduct a study to that end. I have stated before that the cash flow associated with such a facility can provide many community benefits that we currently do not have. Those benefits could include daily opportunities for oil recycling, antifreeze recycling, electronics recycling, freon units recycling, large volumes of brush, large volumes of wood recyling, anti litter programs, etc, etc, etc, etc. Below is an article about the Raleigh County SWA -- who owns a landfill and a commercial recycling facility. Can you believe that the lobby arm of the waste hauler's association actively worked to oppose the publicly owned Raleigh County facilities? Sound familiar? Want positive change for Berkeley County? It all begins with meaningful in state waste hauling competition. Read on ....
Trash Becomes Treasure at Raleigh Solid Waste Authority Ceremony
Local Companies Will Award Money To Students From Area Schools That Participated In Recycling Program
Matthew Hill:
Register-Herald Reporter - Published:
May 23, 2006
One person’s junk is another’s
treasure — or perhaps both players in this old cliché are one and the same.
Students from 30 Raleigh County schools that participate in a recycling program
will discover the truth of that unorthodox fact at an awards ceremony today
sponsored by the Raleigh County Solid Waste Authority. Festivities will kick off
at 11 a.m. at SWA headquarters, followed by lunch immediately thereafter.
“It is phenomenal!” proclaimed an exuberant Sherrie Hunter, the SWA’s director
of education and marketing. “These kids are doing exceptional jobs. When I got
the statistics of what these schools had accomplished, I looked, blinked and
thought, ‘Oh, my word! What a huge impact this will be.’” For this school year
alone, students in the 30 schools recycled 351 tons of what would have otherwise
congested the landfill even further. It’s quite a leap for the program that, in
its infancy five years ago, included 11 schools and 47 tons of recyclable trash.
“That was prior to SWA being in its state-of-the-art recycling center.
Everything had to be hand-sorted using an antiquated process. We were crawling
then. Now I believe we are sprinting,” Hunter quipped. At today’s ceremony,
schools and some individual students will be awarded monies from local companies
that have agreed since last year to serve as corporate Green Teams — sponsors
who have embraced the school recycling contest. They will donate, in Hunter’s
words, thousands upon thousands of dollars to area schools for their efforts.
For example, a $500 bonus will go to the school that recycled the most aluminum
for the second semester. All schools achieving a minimum of 100 pounds of
recyclables per student will receive corporate Green Team funds. The school that
accumulated the most pounds per student for the entire school year will be on
the receiving end of a $1,000 bonus. The grand prize “Stanley Cup of Recycling”
will go to the school that boasts the most pounds per student for the second
semester. The current cup-holder, Mabscott Christian Academy, took the crown
from St. Francis de Sales last year. This year’s winner is a well-kept secret
for now. Previous winners include Stanaford, Ghent and Central elementary
schools. “Their hard work is being recognized. Jacob Daniel, a student at
Fairdale Elementary School, and his parents have collectively recycled over
75,000 pounds of paper and cardboard. That is, by far, the most fiber product
ever recycled by an individual for this program.” The benefits of Hunter’s
efforts are even beginning to reach neighboring Fayette County. Elementary
schools in Mount Hope and Scarbro have already introduced pilot programs, which
she hopes will become contagious. The two schools have recycled more than 10
tons since February. Even now, she said, her program is generating more
recyclables than Beckley’s mandatory citywide recycling. While she may not
personally receive any awards today, Hunter’s greatest recompense is to see a
new generation appreciate the value, and the necessity, of recycling its waste.
“You’ll look at your trash can differently,” she declared.
“Most items in your trash can should be recycled. The community has truly
embraced recycling. We love it that students who have learned to recycle in
elementary school will carry that into their adult lives. We’ve created a whole
new generation that realizes that we’re not a disposable society.”