FORT McCOY, Wis. -- Fiscal Year (FY) 2010 marked the third consecutive year Fort McCoy has recycled more than 40 percent of its waste stream, according to Michael Miller.
Miller, who is the Water and Wastewater branch chief for the Fort McCoy Directorate of Public Works, said Fort McCoy's recycling program continually strives to improve the installation's recycling percentage. McCoy recycled 42 percent of its waste stream in both FY 2008 and 2010 (1,677 tons of material) and 47 percent (2,078 tons) in FY 2009. All three percentage totals surpass the Army's goal of having its organizations recycle 40 percent of their waste stream, Miller said.
Miller said he hopes 50 percent of the installation's waste stream eventually can be recycled.
By far, concrete is the leading recycled material at Fort McCoy, followed by paper/cardboard, and scrap metal, Miller said. Other items that can be recycled at Fort McCoy include glass and plastics (No. 1 PET and No. 2 HDPE), which can be combined; aluminum, steel and tin cans; metals; and used printer cartridges and compact disks.
"Recycling is one facet of Fort McCoy's comprehensive environmental program," Miller said. "It not only conserves natural resources, but also minimizes the negative environmental impacts of waste disposal."
Members of the Fort McCoy work force and community are encouraged to learn and recognize which materials are recyclable, and support the installation's recycling program by separating those items from their regular waste and placing them into appropriate containers, Miller said.
All recycling is done through contracts, where organizations come to pick up the items at Fort McCoy. Miller said the funding generated by recycling the items is used to pay the program costs. In FY10 the program generated about $216,000 in funds.
Items need to be separated, and containers are provided to help accomplish this requirement. Signs describing how to prepare items for recycling are available and can be placed at various sites, Miller said. Other measures have been implemented to make recycling as easy as possible, such as putting containers outside the bachelor officer quarters to collect the materials all at once, without having to go inside the buildings.
Recycling personnel make regular runs throughout the installation to pick up recyclable materials. The Recycling Center, building 2218, also has a bulk paper shredder for use by personnel.
The next goal for the program is a project to separate leftover, uneaten food items from solid waste and send it to a facility that can use it to help create methane gas for energy conservation, he said.
For more information about recycling at Fort McCoy, call Miller at 608-388-6546.
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