April 14, 2016 • mccsokinawa.com
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n aluminum can that you tossed in the recycle bin last week eventually gets sorted
among other recyclables—glass and plastic bottles, paper, cardboard—upwards of 20 tons per year, compacted into large bricks and repurposed. Old glass becomes new glass, a plastic bottle becomes the lid to your coffee and old credit card statements become organic toilet paper. But recycling is just half the story. It's not just about waste reduction. Nor is it only for people who go to Coachella and make their own cheese. The Qualified Recycling Program (QRP) creates cash out of our garbage—cash that is injected back into the community. Major David Roen, Deputy Director of the Environmental Affairs Branch, explains, “QRP allows installations to collect recyclable materials and sell it to vendors and retain the revenue. We can use that revenue to pay for energy conservation, pollution prevention and quality of life programs.” This year recycling generated $225,000 that was put towards improving the quality of life of Marines, Sailors and their families stationed on Okinawa. “Our intent was to incentivize recycling so people can see the benefits of it in something tangible,” says Sergeant Major Fields of Camp Schwab. On Camp Schwab, funds generated from recycling have funded improvements to the SMP Program.
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The Qualified Recycling Program is a program funded purely by recycled materials. “The main function of QRP is to divert solid waste from the landfills. The more waste that can [be recycled], the less impact you will have on the environment. And since we can make money with [QRP], it becomes a self-sustaining program that isn’t a burden on the tax payer,” Major Roen adds. Although recycling is something that is drilled into our minds since elementary school, the economic impact of recycling remains unknown to most. For a long time, the understanding was sorting your garbage meant helping the environment. And while that is true, it's not enough to get people to care. But if putting out your cardboard means new Xboxes—that’s a different story. It’s that very nature of our
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"Recycling is just half the story." population that has made QRP so successful. “We are in a financially constrained environment, and this is a new funding stream that hasn’t been tapped into in a long time,” says Sergeant Major Fields, “and it’s entirely fueled by consumer consumption.” So help support your community—recycle this issue after you've read it. —Ryan Anastoplus
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