Good News
Area News of Churches and Related Christian Events
“VOL. INO. 15
WEDNESDAY, MAY 13, 1992
REPUBLIC NEWSPAPERS
| The right thing to do - recycle
By RENEE WALSER
When ask
Cleveland County
Recycling Coordinator Sam
Lockridge, "Why should I
recycle?" he has two rea-
sons for them.
"It's the right thing to
do," is his first answer.
Environmentally speaking,
it's only right not to waste
and to be good stewards, he
said.
But the second reason
probably gets more atten-
tion: Recycling extends the
people
life of the county's landfills
and thereby controls costs.
Economically, recycling is
the answer to our waste
treatment problem.
Cleveland County is one
of the first counties in
North Carolina to imple-
ment a convenience center
system, abolishing the
green boxes of the past.
There are six centers
around the county (two ad-
ditional centers are being
built) where residents may
bring their refuse for recy-
cling. Citizens inside mu-
nicipalities are encouraged
to use the centers, also.
Business has been good,
said Lockridge. He did a
study of the amount of re-
cyclable materials brought
to the centers in 1991, and
found that in December,
over 100 tons had been sub-
mitted. Over 700 tons were
brought to the centers for
the year.
The largest amount of
materials received were
classified as bulk mixed
metals (scrap metal and
Neil Morris moves some scrap metal at Morris Junk Yard three miles out of Kings Mountain on Highway 74.
white and
newsprint.
"We feel real good in our
direction," said Lockridge.
goods)
~ "In the past it's been a fad."
Now he says there has
been a state mandate that
stipulates a recycling re-
duction goal of 25 percent
of the waste stream.
"We are trying to meet
that reduction goal,” he
said. -
"This is strictly a volun-
tary program," Lockridge
said. "And the citizens are
responding.”
Lockridge stressed that
the rumor that county gov-
ernment makes a profit
from recycling is a myth.
Rather, government saves
money.
"The less landfills we
have to develop, the less
fees we have to charge," he
said. "It's a dominoe effect."
Fifty years of recycling
Nestled off Hwy. 74 busi-
ness on the way to Shelby
is Morris’ Junk Yard. You'd
never know unless someone
told you where to look for
it.
It's been there for 50
years, handed down
through the family from
grandfather to father and
now the sons are working
the yard.
Recycling is not a new
See Recycle, Page 5