The grade 4/5/6 class made many discoveries on their field trip to the New Denver recycling center and the transfer station in Rosebury. Nicole Ward, RDCK Environmental Coordinator answered the students’ questions about what happens after we drop off our garbage and recycling at the facilities, and how waste is treated at the landfill. Students were surprised to learn that most of the glass in our region gets crushed and combined with sand to cover up garbage or to make roads in the landfill. We also found out that if recycling is not cleaned, it will get transported all the way to the recycling processors in Kelowna or Spokane, then sorted and thrown away! This is a waste of the sorters’ time and energy, and has a high environmental cost of transport trucks producing greenhouse gasses. Students wanted other people in the community to know these and many other important facts they learned, so are producing posters to be put up at the waste and recycling centers. They hope that this information will help their community be better recyclers.
