By Suzanna McDougal & Becky Homan, Board Members, RCR
With spring cleaning still underway, many in our community realize that recycling is the best way to do this cleaning while also helping to keep items out of the Missoula landfill.
Ravalli County does not give direct local-government support for recycling. Our nonprofit, citizen-operated Ravalli County Recycling (RCR) is here to help. We are three-years-old and we are growing. We recycled 110 tons of material the first quarter of this year, compared to 85 tons the first quarter of last year, and that’s winter-time collection. See our website at: www.ravallirecycling.org.
Most of us with RCR are volunteers, and we are noticing several areas where we need assistance. These include: education, disassembling items, repairing reusables, publicity, marketing, cardboard loading, truck loading, greeting recyclers, helping them unload and place items in the correct bins and controlling the quality of sorted materials by a careful re-checking of bins.
Also, since we are a 501c3, any donations to RCR are tax deductible. Money that comes in from donations helps to pay our rent of the property, insurance, vehicle maintenance, gas — all the necessities of running a good yard.
Help us do this work. On Thursday, July 10th, from 4 to 8 p.m., we are having a first-annual fundraiser at Higherground Brewery with several raffle items, a big door prize and music by the acoustic band “Tin Cup.” Join in the fun, have a beer ($1 from each goes to RCR), buy raffle tickets and even sign up to volunteer. Supporting your community recycling center is the same as supporting your community!