Resolution to Go Green

Published in the issue's Go Green page. ChamberLink January 2010.

You have decided to go green this year and made a New Year’s resolution filled with good intentions.   To make your green resolution a reality, here’s a short guide to help you get started.

Choose to Reuse:

We live in a society that encourages disposal, everything from baby diapers to Styrofoam coffee cups are thrown away after just one use.

Unfortunately Styrofoam is very difficult to recycle.  If you use a Styrofoam coffee cup every day at the office, in just one year you use and throw away 260 cups or more.  If you want to go green and reduce the amount of trash you produce during the year, you can switch to a coffee mug.   You will need only one for the whole year.   Reusing something so simple can cause a large impact over time.

Choose to Recycle at Home and Work:

Recycling is environmentally friendly because it allows for a more efficient and wise use of natural resources.  Instead of cutting down trees to make new paper, old paper is collected and recycled to create more paper.   The majority of products you encounter every day are recyclable.  Plastic, cardboard, paper, glass, and aluminum can all be recycled in the Dalton-Whitfield area.   To begin you will need a separate container for recyclables, such as a recycling bin or a clearly marked trash can.

Many residents of the City of Dalton already have a blue curbside recycling bin that is used for all recyclables.  These are separated at the curb when they are picked up by Public Works.  If you live in the City of Dalton, the Department of Public Works may already be offering Residential Curbside Recycling in your neighborhood.  For more details, call 706-278-7077 or visit the City of Dalton’s website and go to the Public Works section http://www.cityofdalton-ga.gov.

However, if you don’t have service in your area you need to separate your recyclables yourself before dropping them off at a Convenience Center like the Old Dixie Landfill.   The main categories are Plastic (#1, #2), Cardboard, Mixed Paper, Glass, and Aluminum.  You can drop-off your recyclables at any one of four Convenience Centers operated by the Dalton-Whitfield Regional Solid Waste Authority (DWSWA).

If you have a business in the City of Dalton or Whitfield County you may qualify for the Target Recycling program offered by the DWSWA.  This program can help your business recycle paper, cardboard, plastic and aluminum products by setting up a collection site for your whole building.  For more information on the Convenience Centers or the Target Recycling program call 706-278-5001 or visit their website http://www.dwswa.org.

It’s easier than ever to go green in Dalton-Whitfield.  Here’s to a greener you and greener New Year!

Liz Swafford is the Executive Director of Keep Dalton-Whitfield Beautiful and the Recycling and Education Program Coordinator for the Dalton-Whitfield Regional Solid Waste Authority (www.DWSWA.org).  Contact her by e-mail at: lswafford@dwswa.org or call 706-278-5001.

"Bring One For The Chipper" Event Held at Home Depot In Dalton

By: Kristen Johnson, News Channel 12

One North Georgia organization wants to make sure Christmas Trees don't end up in the landfill.

For the last 19 years, "Keep Dalton-Whitfield Beautiful" hosted its annual recycling event.

"Bring one for the chipper" was held at the Home Depot in Dalton.

By Saturday afternoon more than 80 trees were brought by the location.

Organizers say the free service allows residents to send their trees back to nature as mulch or animal habitats.

"I'm very happy to see that the community is interested in recycling and environmentalism in general and it's just great to see how people still feel positive about helping the earth and doing something right for the environment," Liz Swafford, Executive Director of Keep Dalton-Whitfield Beautfield said.

In return for their tree, participants received the choice between a seedling or packet of seeds.

And don't worry if you didn't get a chance to drop off your tree, the city of Dalton collects trees on the curb.

Whitfield County residents can visit one of four convenience centers.

Public works employees and Dalton State College students also helped with Saturday's event.

Click here for video.

Goal nearing, city recycling officials say

 Submitted by the Dalton-Whitfield Regional Solid Waste Management Authority

The Daily Citizen

City of Dalton officials recently announced that the city is very close to reaching the goal of 1,000 tons of curbside recycling collected from residents in 2009.

The program — offered as a service to residents — collects paper, newspapers, magazines, cardboard, plastic bottles, aluminum cans and other recyclable materials using blue recycling bins.

The bins are placed at the curb alongside residential garbage cans for weekly pickup by the city’s public works department.

At the end of November, residents had contributed to the collection of 904 tons of recyclables for the year.

“The city of Dalton is very close to reaching the 1,000 ton goal,” said Michael Foxx, assistant operations manager for the materials recovery facility at the Dalton-Whitfield Regional Solid Waste Management Authority. “The holidays are a busy time of year for everyone but also a time when we produce more trash than average. I want to encourage residents to continue with their curbside recycling. December is the perfect month to reach 1,000 tons.”

“As of Friday, Dec. 11, we had collected 52 tons of the remaining 96 tons needed to meet our goal,” added Benny Dunn, public works director for the city.

To learn about the curbside collection options for your neighborhood, call the public works at (706) 278-7077 or visit the city of Dalton Web site at www.cityofdalton-ga.gov. To learn more about recycling in Dalton-Whitfield County, call the materials recovery facility at (706) 278-5001 or visit www.dwswa.org.

Curbside recycling on the rise in Dalton

By: Kelly Jackson, Chattanooga Times Free Press

DALTON, Ga. — By the year’s end, city residents will have recycled more than 1,000 tons of household waste.

It’s the most the city has collected in one year with its curbside recycling program, which started in 2003, said Harvey Levitt, operations manager for the Dalton-Whitfield Solid Waste Management Authority.

City Public Works Director Benny Dunn said the number is up this year because “we’ve just got more folks” recycling.

Awareness of the city’s curbside recycling program has grown since the city went from twice-weekly garbage pickup to just once a week in 2008. Officials advocated the city’s free weekly recycling service as a way to reduce trash.

But figures show there’s still room for improvement. Reece Carroll, operations manager with public works, said only about 35 percent of Dalton residents recycle.

Terry Ensley, information technology analyst and accounts manager for the solid waste authority, said the city’s trash totals for 2009 are more than 8,000 tons. More of that could be recycled with increased participation, he said.

But it’s not mandatory that residents recycle, Mr. Levitt said. “All we can do is try to educate and promote the program,” he said.

According to Mr. Dunn, curbside recycling costs about $175,000 a year, but the city is saving about $150,000 annually without the extra day of trash pickup.

The solid waste authority compares recycling totals with those of Rome, Ga., because the curbside program there serves a similar population. This year, Rome’s curbside recycling expects to bring in about 900 tons, Mr. Levitt said.

“We’re going to beat them this year,” he said.

Mr. Levitt said there are “so many reasons” why Dalton residents should recycle, such as saving landfill space and commodities such as trees used for paper and oil used for plastics.

Recycling also supports Georgia jobs, because 80 to 90 percent of residential recycled materials go to facilities in the state, he said.

Next year, the solid waste authority hopes to improve recycling numbers at its four convenience centers. Right now only about 5 percent of county residents using those facilities recycle, Mr. Levitt said.

DALTON RECYCLING TOTALS

* 650 tons: 2004

* 704 tons: 2005

* 628 tons: 2006

* 600 tons: 2007

* 893 tons: 2008

* 999 tons: 2009 (as of Tuesday)

Sources: Harvey Levitt and Liz Swafford of the Dalton-Whitfield Solid Waste Authority

Tree recycling is the green choice

By: Kelly Jackson, Chattanooga Times Free Press

DALTON, Ga. -- Recycling is the environmentally friendly way to bid farewell to the family Christmas tree, officials say.

"Bring One for the Chipper" is a statewide program sponsored by Keep Georgia Beautiful. Locations are designated throughout the state for people to recycle their Christmas trees, turning them into mulch.

Keep Dalton-Whitfield Beautiful and the Dalton-Whitfield Solid Waste Authority head up the program here.

"We are providing the service so that people can close the loop," said Liz Swafford, recycling and education program coordinator for the solid waste authority. 

The big event is Jan. 9 at Home Depot, where a chipper will be turning Christmas trees into mulch, she said. Residents dropping off Christmas trees will receive a free redbud, dogwood, or crape myrtle tree seedling or vegetable, herb or wildflower seeds, she said.

"There's a lot of free gifts for the public, plus they'll have the option of getting mulch if they want," she said.

Live Christmas trees are better for the environment than artificial ones because "Christmas trees are part of the sustainable farming industry," Ms. Swafford said.

Recycling the tree completes the Christmas tree's life cycle, she said.

Denise Wood, member of Keep Dalton-Whitfield Beautiful, said the goal of the recycling program is to find "a beneficial use for the trees."

Recycled trees are mulched or may be used for other purposes. Some are kept whole so they can be placed in local lakes and ponds to improve fish habitat, said Ms. Wood.

Others may be used for erosion control, said Ms. Swafford.

Ms. Wood said its important to recycle Christmas trees because it "saves valuable landfill space."

Ms. Swafford said "just dumping it somewhere creates an imbalance in that little part of the ecosystem."

State regulations also prohibit the disposal of yard trimmings in municipal landfills, according to a news release.

Ms. Swafford said the annual "Bring One for the Chipper" event is more than 10 years old. Each year, an average of 700 trees are recycled in the area, she said.

Since the statewide program started in 1991, more than 4.8 million Christmas trees have been recycled, according to the Keep Georgia Beautiful Web site.

Local residents have the option of dropping off their trees at one of the county convenience centers, where yard debris is recycled into mulch throughout the year. City residents also can call for pick-up.

Tom Sawyer's Christmas Tree Farm in Glenville, N.C., sold trees this year in Chattanooga and Dalton. Mr. Sawyer said any leftover trees they have are turned into mulch because "it goes right back into Mother Nature."

IF YOU GO

* What: Bring One for the Chipper

* When: 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Jan. 9

* Where: Home Depot on Shugart Road

* What: Bring your live, undecorated Christmas tree to be recycled

* Cost: Free

OTHER WAYS TO RECYCLE

* The Dalton Public Works Department will collect trees from at the curbside. Residents should call 706-278-7077 for pick-up.

* All Whitfield County Convenience Centers (MLK, McGaughey Chapel and Westside) and the Old Dixie Highway Landfill have drop-off locations that accept and recycle yard debris throughout the year.

Source: Dalton-Whitfield Solid Waste Authority

ON THE WEB

* Visit www.keepgeorgiabeautiful.org to find a tree recycling location near you.