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Shaw’s mean, green recycling machine

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Destinee Sweeney
  • 20th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
SHAW AIR FORCE BASE, S.C. --  Several metal bins surround a roundabout at an obscure facility. Throughout the day people park their cars on the roundabout to drop off items. Some of these items may have been important, some of them may have been as simple as a cardboard box.

The bins are labeled with various signs such as “Separate Metals,” “Copper Only” and “Wood.” Next to the facility entrance, two garbage trucks are parked. The trucks are used to transport gathered recyclables and garbage to facilities in the local community.

The Shaw Recycling Center at Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina, accepts a variety of different items from both the residential and commercial sides of base.

“Anything that can be recycled we do our best to separate from the regular garbage and keep it out of the landfill,” said Darius Choice, Shaw Recycling Center refuse and recycling project manager.

From metals to paper, the center’s personnel ensure items are separated into the correct bins to be transported to off-base facilities where they can be recycled properly.

The Shaw Recycling Center accepts wood, metals and cardboard; however, it does not accept electronics or glass.

“As far as plastics go right now, we’re primarily looking for water bottles and soda bottles,” said Danny McKay, 20th Civil Engineer Squadron environmental compliance chief.

On average, the center recycles 13 tons of cardboard, 8 tons of metal products and 13 tons of office paper monthly.

Julious Nichols, Shaw Recycling Center employee, said being able to help the recycling process and seeing that people care about recycling is his favorite part of his job.

According to the Environmental Protection Agency, in 2013 a combination of recycling and composting in the U.S. prevented approximately 87.2 million tons of material from being disposed of.

Recycling helps reduce the amount of waste sent to landfills and incinerators and saves resources such as timber, water and minerals. The Shaw Recycling Center is located off of Kingfisher Rd. in building 1987 and accepts materials Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. For more information on recycling, visit https://www.epa.gov/recycle.