Breckenridge Out of doors Training Heart seems to be to unfold waste diversion consciousness
Allie Flynn, Community Programs Leader for the High Country Conservation Center, right, speaks to Breckenridge Outdoor Education Center staff about her recycling program during a summer class.
Breckenridge Outdoor Education Center / Courtesy photo
The Breckenridge Outdoor Education Center has further developed its waste diversion program to educate its guests about sustainability.
Timberline Disposal & Recycling offered the non-profit education center its single-stream recycling, glass recycling, and composting services free of charge, and provided large, trash can-like waste bins for its recyclable and compostable waste. The High Country Conservation Center provided the “Slim Jim” bins and compost bins in the center’s buildings along with educational signage, trolleys for moving the waste bins, and labels.
Hallie Jaeger, development manager of the outdoor education center, said that she and a colleague had previously worked for the conservation center and already had an appreciation for sustainability and environmental protection in the community.
“We came from this culture of sustainability and environmental protection in our community, and that was very quickly paired with what (the outdoor education center) is about respect for nature and nature,” said Jaeger. “So it was just a super solid foundation to work on these action items.”
Prior to this partnership, the outdoor education center staff would bring all recycling and food scraps from the center to the recycling center in Breckenridge. Now Timberline comes into focus to collect recyclable and compostable waste.
Jaeger said a waste diversion plan to keep waste out of landfills keeps the outdoor education center consistent with its value of protecting the environment and minimizing its impact. By interacting with more than 1,000 participants each summer, the center hopes to further spread a culture of sustainability. For example, the center runs rafting tours for people with special needs and disabilities, and staff bring recycling and compost bins to minimize waste at the landfill.
“We believe this creates permanent habits and can take them home,” said Jaeger. “It’s kind of exponential to create this amazing culture of sustainability in the (outdoor education center) but then also to pass it on to participants who are essentially from all over the United States and around the world.”
Allie Flynn, community programs manager for the conservation center, said the nonprofit has been able to provide such resources to businesses and organizations across the county thanks to the Strong Future grant funding. The grant is designed to help businesses in the county implement or improve their recycling programs, and Flynn said the center is always looking to help more businesses.
With the grant funding, the nature conservation center has helped 24 companies with single-stream recycling, glass recycling and composting. It cost the center a little more than $ 1,400 to provide equipment for the education center.
During the summer, the education center held a staff training course where Flynn taught everyone what the recycling program should look like. This also includes making sure the right materials go into the right containers.
“In order for (the Conservation Center) to come in and be able to explain such rules, there is a lot of credibility and support and a belief that our hard work on the front-end and recycling actually happens in the back-end, if it’s you taken away, ”said Jaeger.
The rules for recycling and composting food waste vary depending on the material placement in local markets, and Flynn explained how it works in Summit County to the education center staff.
“I think it’s really important that we share recycling practices with people in other states because Summit County has different recycling practices than most other counties in the US,” said Flynn.
