Recycle Utah

Nonprofit Summit County, Utah Recycling Center

Uncategorized

Recycle Utah’s Beloved Carolyn Wawra Steps Down from Executive Director Role

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It is with sadness that Recycle Utah, long a cornerstone in Park City and Summit County for empowering the community to lead lives of sustainability, announces that our much beloved Carolyn Wawra will step down as Executive Director to focus on her recovery. Carolyn will remain a staff member of RU to help support our bright and very hopeful future. Don’t hesitate to stop by the center and give her a hug of gratitude. 

Jim Bedell, who has been working closely with Carolyn since 2022, will assume executive leadership of Recycle Utah as our General Manager.

Lunch and Learn Recap

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Lunch and Learn Recap: Transportation
“The Future of the Employee Commute” was the topic of the November Lunch and Learn. Some takeaways from our speakers included: 

1. Cultivating a flexible and productive culture in an ever-evolving remote work environment. By ensuring everyone is in the office together at least once a week, allowing more flexibility to those who are unable to work remotely, and maintaining a healthy day-to-day communication, your business can improve retention while also reducing vehicles on the road. 

2. Alternative transportation needs employer support. PC Transportation found that the #1 determinant for commuters to choose alternative transportation was having an employer that supports sustainable commuting. Take Park City Lodging, which provides a $3/day carpool incentive, accessible bike racks, and a shower for the active transporters.

Public transportation in Summit County is expanding with broader routes, more frequent pickups, and improved service. But alternative options go beyond the bus!

In winter, biking and walking can be tough—so why not carpool? Local businesses like Cole Sport and JANS (in addition to PC Lodging) offer cash or store credit incentives ($2–$5 per employee, per day) for carpooling. Employees benefit, traffic and emissions drop, and new parking spots appear—a win win for all!

Visit RideOn Park City to learn more about alternative transportation options in Summit County! 

How to Drive and Maintain Roads Sustainably in the Winter

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As temperatures are dropping and the roads start to get icy, Park City citizens are starting to prepare for winter driving. Throughout the winter, it’s common practice to pour road salt on streets and driveways, which is by far effective in creating less icy driving conditions. “By lowering the freezing temperature of water, salt prevents snow from turning to ice and melts ice that is already there,” says Jenny Gross with the New York Times. However, recent speculation by scientists has shown that road salts have very harmful environmental effects. Salt is carried with water runoff in the Spring into rivers, lakes, and the reservoirs we drink from. High concentrations of salt have been found to negatively impact plants it encounters. It may seem small, but regardless, road salts do have harmful effects on wildlife and ecosystems. So, what can we do to fix this problem? Jenny Gross with the New York Times states, “One method involves treating roads before storms with a salt brine solution, which can lead to a 75 percent reduction in the amount of salt used while keeping roads just as safe.” Balancing environmental concerns with road safety is a difficult task, but by raising awareness and finding reasonable solutions, we can find a compromise that makes our community and our world a better place. 

Other winter road and driving-related facts to keep in mind:

  • It only takes about 30 seconds to heat up to the ideal driving temperature, even in the winter conditions we have in Park City. Idling and waiting for your car to heat up is not cost-effective and is bad for the environment.

The EPA released that on average, snow blowers release one pound of carbon monoxide every hour that it’s used. Carbon monoxide (CO) is a harmful gas molecule that when inhaled can cause slowed delivery of oxygen to vital organs in the body. Gasoline-powered home-use machines, such as snow blowers, are useful and fast, but shoveling your snow is much more sustainable. Some might even say it’s more fulfilling! 

By Grayson Rae, Sophomore at Park City High School

Yes! Our Green Choices Really Do Matter

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So, you think your individual sustainable choices won’t really have an impact on climate change? Actually, research shows they do. According to Robert Frank, author of “Putting Peer Pressure to Work” (2020), our voluntary environmental actions are significant for two reasons. First, they have the power to shift how the people around us behave. People who see you using reusable shopping bags may consider doing the same. Second, and perhaps more importantly, our sustainable choices make us much more likely to vote greener and support large-scale policies needed to slow climate change.

Here are some highly visible green choices you can make, model, and have conversations about:

  1. Recycle well and help others do the same at the curb and the recycling center. Keep in mind recycling errors can contaminate portions of otherwise recyclable material.
  2. Walk and cycle to travel around your community; this may inspire drivers to ditch their cars and do likewise.
  3. Participate in community clean-ups in a group or by yourself. Rent grabbers and supplies from Recycle Utah! Removing litter helps keep storm water clean. Others may notice how nice trash-free roadsides look and participate.
  4. Participate in activities, attend events, and join organizations that advocate for climate change solutions. Go public by wearing their clothing and using their swag.
  5. Keep up with information about our climate crisis. Make some sustainable choices and get passionate!

By Bev Harrison

Our 52nd Earth Day

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Our 52nd Earth Day is approaching, and we are reminded to reflect on our relationship with nature and implement practices to respect and appreciate our natural home. How did Earth Day become such an iconic day celebrated for over 50 years by more than a billion people in 192 countries?

The first Earth Day was conceived in 1970 after decades of environmental disasters and unchecked pollutants ran rampant across the country. Eight years earlier, in 1962, Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring mobilized a modern environmental movement by describing the connection between environmental health and public health and spurred environmental legislation in America. In 1969, the Santa Barbara Oil Spill polluted California’s pristine beaches and ignited Wisconsin Senator Gaylord Nelson to rally a group of college activists to assist in creating the first Earth Day.

On April 22nd, 1970, the first Earth Day became the largest demonstration by that time with over 20 million people organizing to advocate against environmental ignorance. Months later, the Environmental Protection Agency and the National Oceanography Atmospheric Association were created, setting off a wave of environmental protection policy and reform.

So, how can we celebrate the 52nd Earth Day with a modern perspective of environmental justice and the climate emergency? (1.) Educate yourself on environmental issues and the communities that are most impacted by them. (2.) Donate and get involved with organizations focused on environmental justice. (3.) Write to your legislators and vote to enact environmental and social change. (4.) Implement sustainability into your everyday lifestyle!

By Addison Marr