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Show Recycling 'beneath ' Btfl. ? M Dear Editor, i ' This is the year of the earth. Peo ple throughout the United States are becoming environmentally awake and are trying to do their part in reducing man's impact on the environment en-vironment This is true it seems everywhere but the Bountiful City offices. Recently I had an unpleasant experience ex-perience that brought to light the embarrassing fact that our city leaders find recycling to be beneath them as well as a pain, an inconvenience, inconve-nience, and to be put simply, "It's just not economically feasible." When questioned as to whether they didn't feel that just being able to help the environment is a reward in itself, they responded that, "We live in a desert, when this dump is filled up, we'll just open another one." I left the mayor's office shocked and angry by the messages that were stated and implied. This last January it was with great pride and enthusiasm that I read of Bountiful' s efforts to start a recycling center. I was at the kick-off kick-off meeting where former Mayor Stahle, introduced the plan brought to them by Celestia Brunsdale. There were several dignitaries including in-cluding our newly elected Mayor LinneU who offered their support in the recycling effort. Since then communities throughout the state have contacted Mrs. Brunsdale, who has gone and spoken to them explaining Boun-tiful's Boun-tiful's program. Bountiful has been a leader in the recycling efforts and has won a national award for this. It seems, however, that the mayor's office supports it in a very limited "name only." While not forbidding the recycling bins from being at the city offices it was made very clear to me that that was as far as the support went--that this was not a city-sponsored program and if I had any questions, I was to direct them to Mrs. Brunsdale. I did contact con-tact Mrs. Brunsdale in regards to the collecting of plastics and found that collecting of the plastics has been temporarily put on hold while a new collecting bin is being made which should be available in the very near future. Meanwhile there is still an ongoing ongo-ing effort to collect aluminum, glass, newspapers, corrugated cardboard card-board and tin cans. She also let me know that the recycling efforts are very much alive and well in spite of the city leaders and that they have raised hundreds of dollars to purchase pur-chase trees for the beautification of Bountiful as well as saving the city over $7,000 in tipping fees for garbage gar-bage collecting. I don't know what more it takes to be economically feasible. Monetary benefits aside, these efforts have probably resulted in the savings of hundreds, if not thousands of years to the breaking down of these materials by Mother Nature. I salute Mrs. Brunsdale and all Bountiful citizens who have made an effort to change their lifestyle in order to benefit the earth. I can only shake my head in shame and disbelief at those who still maintain the attitude of "eat, drink, and throw those containers away as for tomorrow we'll let our children worry about it. ' I only hope that we can soon get people who represent our city that are wise enough to get on the recycling bandwagon. Each person's per-son's recycling efforts does make a difference and should be praised and encouraged not ridiculed and misled. Kathryn Martin Bountiful |