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When it comes to recycling, making small changes can often lead to big results. The Copper Country Recycling Initiative is encouraging residents to reduce, reuse, and recycle in a campaign called Don’t Trash The Keweenaw.
Recycling advocate Susan Burack says participation includes slight changes to our daily routine such as taking a mug to the coffee shop, declining drinking straws, and bringing cloth bags with you when you shop.
“A hundred billion plastic bags are produced every year and they are creating quite a problem and we want people to be aware that there are solutions,” Burack said.
Michigan Tech student Anna DeBraber is promoting the Plastic Free Challenge–21 days of simple steps to reduce the use of plastics.
“That’s really hard because plastic is everywhere in our lives, like in our straws but it’s also in our clothes and it’s in some of the hair products we use,” said DeBraber. “It’s really difficult to change all of that at once, which is part of the thinking behind doing a challenge each day so that we can slowly think about these sources of plastic in our life.”
Copper Country Recycling Initiative is holding a Recycling Review called “How Are We Doing? & Where Do We Go From Here?” at the Portage Lake District Library on April 11th.
CCRI Co-Chair Carol Ekstrom says the event will give an update on the area’s recycling efforts and how you can help out. “It’s been about three years since the cardboard recycling and the curbside recycling came into existence in our community and it seemed like a good time to reflect, to pause and just look back at see what we’ve done and how we’re doing and what’s coming up next,” said Ekstom.
Organizations and businesses are also encouraged to take part in a community recycling survey, which will be available at the Portage Lake District Library through April and featured on their website, www.coppercountryrecyclereuse.com.
