One of middle America’s best motorcycle rallies collected more than 5,000 pounds of recyclables last month.
Bikes, Blues and BBQ, which occurred in Rogers from Sept. 18-21, worked with Food Loops and NWA Recycles to collect such things as glass, food waste, cardboard and plastic bottles. Cardboard accounted for about two-thirds of what was captured for recycling.
NWA Recycles, a program of the Northwest Arkansas Council, has a goal focused on capturing more recyclables in a bid to keep those valuable materials from being buried in landfills. Bikes, Blues and BBQ and a demolition derby held earlier this year at Parsons Stadium in Springdale are examples of community events where hundreds of pounds of recyclables can be removed from the waste stream.
The motorcycle rally and derby prove it’s possible to implement recycling at big events in Northwest Arkansas, but it’s comparably easier at smaller affairs in the region.
NWA Recycles created a helpful toolkit that guides event planners through the various steps that must occur to recycle well. It’s important to remember that one option is to utilize the services of a company such as Food Loops for a fee, but it’s worth considering the possibility that a team of enthused volunteers could be effective, too.
NWA Recycles committees, which involve many of the people in Northwest Arkansas who oversee city, corporate and solid waste district recycling programs, are focused on trying to recycle such things as glass, mattresses and food waste. There are intentional efforts to assist schools interested in establishing recycling programs for the first time.
