Interior Alaska gathers for recycling and sustainability symposium

FAIRBANKS, Alaska (KTVF) - Residents from around the Interior and the State of Alaska came out to the Carlson Center on Friday, January 19, to learn about the often-complicated world of recycling.

“Recycling is not a waste in Alaska. It’s very viable,” said Buddy Lane, Environmental Manager with Golden Heart Waste Management, the company that organized and hosted the event.

Starting at noon and running until 7:00 p.m., the Buswell Room at the Carlson Center bustled with activity, as community members stopped in to gather information about recycling in Interior Alaska. “We’re getting a good response. People are coming in. It’s not packed, but there’s always someone coming through the door as other people are leaving,” Lane said.

The Interior Alaska Solid Waste and Recycling Symposium drew interested attendees looking to expand their sustainability options. According to Lane, “We were getting phone calls from people that would say ‘Hey, how can I dispose of a car battery?’ or ‘How can I dispose of cardboard? What’s the best way to do this?’ and so we got to talking and we decided ‘Hey, let’s put on a show or a symposium that people could come to and learn about recycling in the Interior and even Alaska.’”

From anti-freeze to eyeglasses to medical equipment to metal, a full slate of recyclables and ways to live sustainably was on display. “It’s not just about cardboard, plastic and tin cans. There’s other ways to recycle, and that’s one of the things that we really wanted to push with this,” Lane explained.

Representatives from the University of Alaska Fairbanks, the City of Fairbanks, C&R Pipe and Steel, Access Alaska, and many other businesses, non-profits and entities were on hand to answer people’s questions.

In the next room, select speakers expanded on a number of topics, including sustainability, trash collection and hazardous wastes. Discussing the goal of the event, Lane said, “We want to get away from ‘We don’t think it’s very viable in Alaska’ to ‘Wow, this is amazing.’”

This is the first time the symposium has been held in Fairbanks, and organizers are aiming for it not to be the last. “We would love to do this every year, and of course, once you do something like this, you learn from it, and we’re hoping that we’ll be able to expand and have more vendors,” said Lane.

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