Juneau\u2019s recycling center is only open Thursday through Saturday, which isn\u2019t the most convenient.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know if you\u2019ve ever put recycling in your car and said, \u2018OK, I\u2019m going to go there Friday or Saturday,\u2019 and never get there. Now you\u2019re driving around with recycling in the back of your car,\u201d City and Borough of Juneau solid waste coordinator Jim Penor said on the phone Tuesday, laughing.<\/p>\n
Now, with four new recycling drop boxes around town, you won\u2019t have to delay the chore. Two are located behind The Alaska Club on Riverside Drive, one at Statter Harbor in Auke Bay and one at Aurora Harbor near downtown Juneau.<\/p>\n
Penor said the drop boxes are part of a CBJ pilot program to increase recycling. Each container cost $11,500.<\/p>\n
\u201cDrop boxes are there 24\/7. It\u2019s excellent having these drop boxes out in areas that people travel and frequent daily,\u201d Penor said.<\/p>\n
All four drop boxes will accept aluminum, #1 and #2 plastics and cardboard. The Alaska Club location also accepts glass and mixed paper.<\/p>\n
\u201cJuneau citizens do a good job, but I still want to stress \u2014 let\u2019s keep the materials separated, let\u2019s get it in the right bins. The cleaner the material is, the more money we get paid on the product, which helps offset our total cost for the program,\u201d Penor said.<\/p>\n
Recycling in Juneau isn\u2019t profitable. Penor\u2019s annual budget is about $215,000 and he said he can make up to $50,000 back in selling the recycling.<\/p>\n
\u201cAlmost everything gets shipped out to brokers and it\u2019s basically a worldwide market. Wherever we can get the best prices is where it goes. I work with brokers out of Seattle area and it can end up going to China, Vietnam,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The market for recycled commodities is \u201creal volatile,\u201d Penor said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s strange what can affect the markets \u2014 politics, barging, fuel prices affect it. Through 2014 and 2015, I was getting $40 a ton for cardboard. Right now I\u2019m getting $95 a ton for cardboard. How long that stays, I don\u2019t know,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
For plastics #1 and #2, Penor recently got $110 a ton. Glass never gets barged out due to shipping costs and low markets for it. It gets crushed and the landfill uses it for road base, Penor said.<\/p>\n
Annually, Juneau barges out between 1,900 and 2,200 tons of recycling a year. Penor hopes the drop box program grows to 15 containers. He said his ultimate goal is to expand enough that Juneau is shipping out 5,000 tons of recycling a year.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s an excellent thing for Juneau to be doing. It diverts waste from our only permitted landfill. We only have one landfill and the volume in that landfill is precious because once that landfill gets full, I don\u2019t believe we\u2019re in the position to open up another,\u201d Penor said. \u201cSo, let\u2019s keep this landfill, let\u2019s keep space available, let\u2019s protect the environment and pull our recycling out what we can.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2022 Contact reporter Lisa Phu at 523-2246 or lisa.phu@juneauempire.com.<\/p>\n
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Juneau police address race concerns in search for missing Native man<\/a><\/p>\n Juneau Housing First project gets more money, but still in hole<\/a><\/p>\n