Liz Lammers of Quincy Recycle shared her years of recycling wisdom Wednesday with area citizens.
Lammers was a guest of Iola’s Rotary Club. A group of about 20, including county commissioners, city council members and school administrators, were on hand for Lammers’s presentation.
Lammers was impressed by the turnout, and said that usually only one or two people attend her presentations, even though she often travels great distances to give them.
“You guys are a little rural, I’ll be the first to admit it,” she laughed.
Lammers hails from Quincy, Illinois, home of the recycling business that has sites in several states.
Lammers said her job with Quincy is “to move as many truckloads across the country as possible … and to make sure everybody’s happy in the process.”
“It takes a lot of very committed people to do recycling,” she added, and said she took the relatively large audience as evidence of the community’s desire for positive action.
“We are,” chimed in rotarian Karen Gilpin, “every single weekend, we’re out here,” and Rotary’s recycling efforts have continued to be maintained successfully over the past eight years.
Lammers began her presentation by discussing types of recycled materials, methods for bailing and other items useful to the Rotarians present.
One noteworthy question from the audience was: What should we do with plastic grocery bags? Is taking them to Walmart okay?
“I highly recommend you continue to do that,” Lammers said, since large companies can more efficiently process those products, and often at no charge (due to incentives).
She also pointed out the interesting factoids that cardboard is typically made of many different materials, rather than being homogenous, and that cardboard stored in the refrigerator is designed to absorb moisture and become heavier when wet. There’s even a special term for it: wet strength.
For those who recycle cardboard at home, Lammers emphasized how important it is not to recycle the kind coated in wax (often used for storing meat), because it can damage certain equipment.
She added that it’s alright if your cardboard is a little messy, say, having absorbed a tiny grease spot, but it should still be 95% clean.
Another material type Lammers talked about was plastic bottles, and said that she recommends trying to crush them as much as possible before dropping them off.
“When they’re really crushed, they fall apart more easily,” she said. When it comes to recycling, “the denser, the better.”
