JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-RANDOLPH, Texas –
Members of the 502nd Civil Engineer Squadron are setting out to raise awareness about the Joint Base San Antonio recycling program during America Recycles day Nov. 14.
America Recycles Day educates people about the importance of recycling to the economy and environmental well-being, and aims to turn occasional recyclers into “everyday” recyclers.
Jesse Salinas, 502nd CES assistant qualified recycling program manager, said. “We’re running out of space, even here in Texas. We are a big state with a lot of land, but even our landfills are getting full.”
If we don’t recycle and take care of the land we have now, your great grandchildren will only be able to see it in a picture, he added.
JBSA members can help out by checking buildings on a weekly routine basis, moving trailers which have cardboard fenced in, collecting bins and emptying them and shredding paper daily. Bottles and cans should be empty and washed out, large bottles and cans should be crushed to save space. Don’t place chemicals, solvents or other hazardous liquids or oils in recycling bins. Remember to break down cardboard boxes.
Avoid throwing bags of mixed items in the recycling bin like lunch bags. Recycling bins are not for trash.
Recycling helps to conserve natural resources and reduce greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to global warming. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, recycling one ton of aluminum cans saves the energy equivalent of 36 barrels of oil or 1,655 gallons of gasoline. Recycling one aluminum can saves enough energy to power a television set for three hours.
“If you don’t recycle, we are going to run out of resources, and the Earth won’t be able to sustain us anymore,” Salinas said.
For more information on the JBSA recycling program, call 671-4800.