Sarpy County Recycling Update – 3/8

Post date: Feb 24, 2015 11:19:53 PM

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Bellevue, NE, February 24, 2015 – Today Green Bellevue announced its March meeting will be an informative Sarpy County Recycling Update program featuring guest speaker Epiphany Ramos, Operations Manager for City of Bellevue, who will discuss what the City is doing to increase recycling, provide an overview of new programs, and touch on what the future of recycling might look like in the Bellevue community. The program will also include guest speakers Dale Gubbels, CEO of Firstar Fiber, who will discuss the challenges faced in this region with regards to recycling and the value of recyclable materials and Ben Frakes, Community Liaison, Hands of Heartland/TGB Recycling will offer tips on how to make recycling manageable.

Also attending the Green Bellevue meeting is Seth Keith from Fontenelle Forest who will open a discussion on the plastic bag ban that many cities have voted to enforce and why we should be considering this for the Bellevue and the surrounding areas.

The meeting will be held on Sunday, March 8, 2015, from 1:30 - 3:00pm at Nebraska Medicine - Bellevue, 25th & Hwy 370, in the lower level meeting room area in Conference Room A. Green Bellevue programs are free and open to the public. Visit http://www.greenbellevue.org for directions and more information.

Starting in late 2013, Green Bellevue volunteers put more urgency on creating awareness about the importance of removing recyclable items from the trash after receiving news of the imminent closure of the Sarpy County landfill and the planned transfer of Sarpy County trash to the landfill in David City, NE. “Doing what we can to prolong the life of the local landfill is a good thing for the environment because we avoid the inevitable 120 mile roundtrip to haul our trash that will begin,” said Ruth Richter, Green Bellevue Vice President and recycling advocate. “Even more, if we can keep the valuable recyclable materials in the area, businesses that collect the items for reuse and recycling can form and thrive,” said Richter.

About Lighten the Load to the Landfill and Sarpy Recycles

Green Bellevue continues efforts to spread the word about the importance of recycling in Sarpy County. Its “Lighten the Load to the Landfill” program was launched in February 2014 with the purpose of keeping recyclables out of the Sarpy County Landfill. The group consists of volunteers from around the county who raise awareness by marching in parades, speaking to city staff and officials, maintaining an informative website at http://www.sarpyrecycles.org and many other educational activities. In November 2014, the group encouraged all five mayors of the Sarpy County cities to sign proclamations to increase recycling in their city.

About Green Bellevue

Green Bellevue is a 501(c)3 organization of volunteers who work with the support of our city leaders to promote a more beautiful and environmentally friendly community. It is a grassroots effort comprised of individual citizens, businesses and organizations, schools, and public entities from Bellevue, Sarpy County and the greater metro area. Green Bellevue helps individuals and groups undertake programs to enhance our neighborhoods, preserve our natural resources and foster stewardship of our environment.

The group has been organizing a local Earth Day Celebration since 2010. The 2015 Sarpy County Earth Day celebration is scheduled from 12pm to 4pm on Sunday, April 26, 2015, at the BPS Lied Activity Center in Bellevue. The celebration will include a 5k walk/run & ZUMBAthon, healthy foods, local exhibitors & vendors, trashion show, exhibits and education on recycling, renewable energy, sustainable gardening and more. For more information about Earth Day celebration, visit http://www.greenbellevue.org/earthday.

For more information about Green Bellevue and upcoming meetings and events, visit

http://www.greenbellevue.org and http://www.facebook.com/Green.Bellevue