Raising the Bar

On the short list of fun things to do in Valdosta drinking is perpetually near the top, along side getting stoned out of your mind or playing World of Warcraft– yep, those are pretty much your only options. Most of us choose to drink. But how many of us think of recycling in that inebriated state? Hell, I can’t even think of my address by the end of my nights at the bar, let alone remember to sort my empties. But recycling can positively impact our environment and our lives. So if you, like me, spend much of your life at the bar, you’ll agree that recycling at the bar makes perfect sense.

Consider how much trash one person makes at the bar. I consider myself an average drinker– I consume about four or five drinks each night I go out. Sometimes less, often more. If I drink five beers a night, going out twice a week I will accumulate about ten unrecycled bottles or cans. So using a rather conservative estimate of my drinking, each year I account for five hundred or so unrecycled containers. Multiply that by every obnoxious drunk you see and you’ll soon realize how big an impact recycling can make.

North Carolina is the first US state to implement such recycling policies. In 2005 they passed a measure requiring establishments with Alcoholic Beverage Control permits to recycle aluminum cans and glass bottles. "As the waitresses and bartenders close down at the end of the night, they'll separate the bottles. Real simple," said Erik Hodgeman, who manages a Raleigh bar. "Execution is going to be the most difficult thing – figuring out the ins and outs of how it's going to work – but overall I think it's a good idea."

Mark Center, a district supervisor for the state Division of Alcohol Law Enforcement, said recycling will be checked during routine, unannounced inspections. Failing to comply is a class one misdemeanor with a possible fine. Wilmington is one of the cities most affected by the law. The 60 or so downtown bars and restaurants go through about 2 million bottles of beer and 140,000 bottles of liquor a year, which officials said amounts to between 10 tons and 12 tons of glass recyclables every week.

In some places the students are leaders, organizing community recycling projects. The Students for Bar Recycling club at Kansas University is collecting glass bottles from local bars to be recycled. Similar groups in California and Oklahoma are looking to start the same program in their college towns.

While glass is 100 percent recyclable, it has less value when resold than other containers such as aluminum cans or plastic bottles. According to the RecycleNet Composite Index, aluminum cans are currently worth $600 per ton when recycled, while mixed colors of glass are worth $5 per ton. As a result, it’s more difficult to find glass recyclers. In Earth911’s recycling database, there are 42 percent more locations nationwide that accept aluminum cans than clear glass.

If you’d like to help get a recycling program started at your favorite watering hole, here are a few resources that will get you started.

Earth911.com Put in your zip code and this site will tell you where the nearest recycling center is. You can specify what you want to recycle (paper, aluminum cans, computers– even paint).

greenstudentU.com An up-to-date encyclopedia of green terms, a guide to eco-friendly living for the college student, and links to resources to start recycling programs. It also posts news on all things green.

Partnership4recycling.org This is the official site of the North Carolina Division of Pollution Prevention and Environmental Assistance, the agency responsible for enforcing the state’s new recycling law. A good site for researching your potential recycling project. Check out the “best Practices” section for a guide to creating a successful recycling plan at your bar or restaurant. There are even case studies of bars in NC with successful recycling programs.