Photo By Master Sgt. Joy Dulen | Jose Velez, a material handler for the Fort Knox Recycling Center, empties an...... read more read more
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The Fort Knox Recycling Center is just one of the many assets of the installation’s Environmental Management Division. The center works with facilities on post that generate recyclables and processes them all in one plant as part of integrated solid waste management on Fort Knox. U.S. Army Human Resources Command, HRC, is a major contributor to the effort.
“Of all the facilities that generate recyclables on post, HRC is the largest, especially in the paper category,” said Daniel Pearman, Fort Knox Recycling Center manager. Pearman deals with HRC and its contributions to the post recycling program on a weekly basis. “The one thing that I think is great about recycling is the landfill diversion and the Army’s commitment to trying to do that,” he said.
HRC has more than 100 receptacles designed to collect bottles, cans, plastics, cardboard and paper set up throughout its almost 900,000 square foot headquarters, the Lt. Gen. Timothy J. Maude Complex. Other containers set up around the complex collect large cardboard items, newspapers and magazines, and the warehouse has drop off areas for scrap metal, used printer ink cartridges, wire, wood pallets and even old computer parts and monitor screens.
“In 2016, HRC recycled 839 ink cartridges, more than 6,000 pounds of scrap metal and wire, over 19,000 pounds of cardboard and just over 93,000 pounds of paper,” said Fred Shaw, HRC Safety and Occupational Health manager.
The HRC paper recycling trail is a large and lengthy one. Employees drop unclassified paper products into collection point bins located throughout the complex. The bins are wheeled to the warehouse once a week, where Pearman and his recycling center team pick them up and take them to the center. They’re emptied into a machine that mulches the paper into a fine product. The product is then taken to a baler and formed into 1,500-1,700 pound bales of mulched paper, which are sold to commercial buyers.
“We market that paper through sales solicitations that are based on market price,” said Pearman. “It brings very good revenue in, well over $100 a ton.”
He added it doesn’t take long for the mulch to become paper again. “From here it will be loaded and delivered directly to the paper mill, so when it leaves here, it could very easily be paper within a day or two,” said Pearman.
But whether it is paper, plastic or metal collected, the revenue created makes recycling not just a smart asset, but a valuable one for Fort Knox.
“This program is set up to fund itself as we make enough money from the sale of the commodities generated here to run our program and staff 19 employees,” said Pearman. “And on top of that, any excess money can be used on Fort Knox for environmental, safety and MWR (Morale Welfare and Recreation) projects.”
“Our participation here stems from a more progressive culture within HRC,” said Jonathan Hall, HRC environmental compliance officer. “People are a little more forward thinking and a little more ready to take on the mentality that it’s everybody’s responsibility.”
Hall helps manage the HRC recycling program. He walks the Maude Complex every day collecting cans, bottles, plastic and cardboard, seeing the direct impact HRC has on the overall recycling effort on Fort Knox. With close to 4,000 employees, it’s a facility that generates waste quickly and in significant quantities.
“It may only be a tiny bit, but it adds up,” said Hall. “Imagine how many bottles, how many cans each individual goes through in a week and that starts to add up drastically.”
Hall says he’s very satisfied with the way people participate in the recycling program at HRC, but stressed that it wouldn’t be possible if not for the excellent overall program on Fort Knox. “They have some very enthusiastic people who run that program and they’re very dedicated,” he said.
“It’s a good feeling to have this job and know that I’m part of the sustainability of Fort Knox,” said Pearman.
| Date Taken: | 02.17.2017 |
| Date Posted: | 02.24.2017 15:48 |
| Story ID: | 224817 |
| Location: | FORT KNOX, KY, US |
| Web Views: | 71 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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