Recycling: Coming to a Curbside Near You!

What started last year as a small paper recycling collection spot in Merle Paschedag and Deb Lyon’s backyard has blossomed into a communitywide reduce-reuse-recycle revolution.

Thanks to Paschedag and numerous volunteers, the concept of recycling has finally taken hold. No longer do we throw out plastic, aluminium, paper and other things we know are recyclable without picturing Paschedag in our heads. To toss glass in the trash willynilly would be to let him down and, frankly, he’s just too nice a guy to disappoint.

Instead, more and more of us are collecting, separating and marking our electronic calendars for the fourth Saturday of each month. That’s when the Greater Paducah Sustainability (GPS) RecycleNow group — which Paschedag and team have expanded from a handful to more than 300 members today — hosts its monthly recycling event at the Park Avenue Kroger parking lot, 9 a.m.-3 p.m.

The group held the first event last April to coincide with Earth Day. Since then, the number of recyclers — and the amounts recycled — has steadily increased each month.

The process couldn’t be much simpler. Simply pull into the parking lot (extra points if you bike or carpool), and the lively volunteers cart your recyclables to the appropriate bins. Afterward, Paschedag and team arrange for most of the items to be delivered to Sandy Mason at Mason’s Recycling Center on Old Mayfield Road. Glass is hauled to a recycler in Tennessee.

And just like that, we’ve recycled. And we feel really, really good about it. In fact, we might even pop open a recyclable bottle of champagne to celebrate. Are corks recyclable?

But here’s the thing. GPS says we can do better. That’s why the group is lobbying the City Commission to create citywide curbside recycling. “It’s coming,” Paschedag says. ”We just have to keep showing support for it.”

How do we do that? By joining the group (see sidebar, left), continuing to recycle and by emailing Mayor Paxton and Commissioners Robert Coleman, Gayle Kaler, Buzz Smith and Gerald Watkins to let them know we’re ready for weekly recycling action right outside our doorsteps.

“We are estatic by the support and participation we’re getting,” Paschedag notes. “And we feel good that people understand that recycling is a great fit for Paducah.”

To volunteer, send an email to .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

Recycle on!

---