The Outer Banks Voice recently ran a story written by Willo Kelly, a representative of BlueGreen Outer Banks, that points out some great facts about recycling on the Outer Banks. Did you know you can get free crushed glass to use in landscaping?...freelicious! The list of facts is below, and at the end of the list is a link to a survey about recycling on the OBX…the survey takes less than five minutes. Outer Banks recycling facts:
- It is illegal to put aluminum cans, plastic water bottles/other plastic containers and oyster shells in North Carolina landfills.
- Establishments that sell alcoholic beverages are mandated by state law to recycle all of their glass.
- Dare County is the only North Carolina county that has its own glass crusher.
- The crushed glass can be picked up free and used for landscaping, driveway surfaces, etc. Look at the sparkling entrance to Jockey’s Ridge.
- Out of 100 North Carolina counties, Dare County ranked No. 1 last year for per-capita recycling. This ranking is somewhat skewed because it is based on the weight of recyclables per year-round resident and does not count seasonal population numbers.
- Recycling is the easiest way to reduce waste in our landfills.
Considering the environment of the Outer Banks, you might wonder why recycling is not mandatory. The Towns of Duck and Southern Shores provide curbside recycling service. Other Dare County towns have recycling “centers” and have contracted with a vendor to provide curbside service to those who voluntarily pay for it.
There is still so much more we can do to increase and improve recycling on the Outer Banks and your help is needed. BlueGreen Outer Banks – Tomorrow Matters Inc. has worked with East Carolina University’s Center for Sustainable Tourism to develop a survey to find out what Outer Banks residents and visitors think about recycling.The BlueGreen Recycling Survey (survey now expired).
