Columnist Susan Snyder: Recycling: Bin there, done that

Friday, Dec. 1, 2000 | 10:58 a.m.

Susan Snyder's column appears Fridays, Sundays and Tuesdays. Reach her at snyder@lasvegassun.com or 259-4082.

Spent last weekend somewhere else, like half the population -- the half that wasn't sitting in the bumper-to-bumper traffic filing into Las Vegas from Southern California.

Thankfully we headed the opposite direction. And it was quite the learning experience assembling a holiday feast in a California kitchen. The average 2-year-old doesn't hear "no" as often.

"Do we trash the bag from the walnuts?"

No.

"How about the pickle-jar lid?"

No.

"Green onion tails?"

No.

Cripes, those people recycle trash like Las Vegas recycles politicians.

OK, I can see the similarities. But still, everything from pop-bottle caps to coat hangers goes into the recycling bins. And nobody sorts anything. They just pile it in there and schlep it out to the curb. The elves take care of the rest.

"Just because an item isn't on the list doesn't mean it's not recyclable. Give us a call, and we will check it out!" the flier sent to Rancho Cucamonga's residents says.

And then there's us. Nevada ranks among the five states that are the worst about recycling. A state law passed in 1991 urged Nevadans to recycle 25 percent of their trash. State figures show Nevadans recycled only 11 percent of their trash last year.

Clark County's rate was 8 percent -- half of what it was in 1996. But don't fret. Elko County, that bastion of forward-thinkers up north, was under 10 percent, too. So we're no worse than they are. Bully for us.

David Friedman, the state's recycling coordinator, says his office gives out contracts, like grants, that local governments or not-for-profit groups can use to further recycling efforts in their communities.

Clark County has only one of those contracts. It goes to the UNLV Rebel Recycling program run by a woman who started as an undergraduate project, he said. After graduation, she made recycling her full-time job.

"I don't know why I don't get more takers from Clark County," Friedman said. "Usually when you're trying to give money away people are all over you. But I have trouble generating interest down there." Republic Services of Southern Nevada -- the company responsible for the county's trash pick-up through 2035 -- has a curbside recycling program for residents who live in houses.

Apartment-dwellers, however, are out of luck unless they are willing to tote their recyclable stuff to the collection facility themselves, Friedman said. Clark County apartment residents can take recyclable items to 333 W. Gowan Road in North Las Vegas. (For more information on what and how to recycle, call the state hotline (800) 597-5865.)

Friedman says most apartment complexes don't have the space to add recycling containers next to the trash bins.

"It's not a planning requirement for multiple-family developments to include recycling containers. Perhaps if Clark County changed its building codes a little bit ..."

He didn't finish the sentence, but we know what he means. Seems odd, though. A few recycling bins would take up less space than a couple of new landfills.

And I'd rather live next to a recycling bin. Wouldn't you?