Think local: Here are some ideas to keep Fremont green


The Keep Fremont Beautiful Committee is a Keep America Beautiful Affiliate. KFB is dedicated to improving everyone’s waste handling practices and we actively encourage our citizens to take greater responsibility for the local environment.

If you are interested in participating in some local “green” projects, this is a great time of year to get started. Nebraska is the home of Arbor Day and it would be quite fitting to plant a tree in honor of this national holiday. Arbor Day is the last Friday of April — by planting a tree this spring, you will help create a cleaner and healthier environment.

On Saturday, April 26, 2008 there are two local events that will offer you a chance to recycle.

The All Metals Drop Site will be 9-11:30 a.m. April 26, 2008 at the Ilgenfritz Parking Lot at Fourth Street and Park Avenue. You may bring your metal pipes and tubing, cast iron sinks and bathtubs, aluminum door frames and windows, broken bicycles, clean tin cans, old lawnmowers, etc. We will accept metal items only.

So clean out your garage and bring the metal scraps to the drop site — that is the “green” thing to do.

Also on April 26, 2008, American National Bank is sponsoring a Community Shred Day. Just bring your “informational sensitive” office paper to the 23rd and Lincoln branch from 10 a.m. to noon. Paper Tiger Shredding will have their paper shredding truck on hand to collect and destroy your waste paper.

Paper Tiger shredding is 100 percent dedicated to recycling the destroyed paper — which is really “green.” Making paper from trees consumes more energy and water — making paper from paper utilizes less energy and creates less waste.

Bring your cancelled checks, office paper, computer paper, receipts with account information, etc. to American National Bank on April 26, 2008. Every ton of recycled paper is equal to 3 tons of virgin wood.

The Keep Fremont Beautiful Committee in cooperation with the City of Fremont, Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality, Three Rivers Health Department, Wal-Mart and a number of local pharmacists will be hosting a Pharmaceutical and Over-the-Counter Medication collection event.The collection will be 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. May 3, 2008 in the parking lot on the east side of the Wal-Mart Supercenter.

It used to be that the recommended disposal for pharmaceuticals and medications was to flush the material down the toilet — that is no longer recommended. Flushing does prevent accidental ingestion, but flushing medicines down the toilet can cause eventual pollution of ground and surface water.

In recent years, scientists have found fewer male fish than expected in our streams. Those same scientists are finding male fish with female reproductive characteristics. These findings have been attributed to endocrine disrupting chemicals found in treated wastewater, which is then discharged into surface water bodies. Each one of us can help solve at least a portion of the pharmaceutical and medicinal pollution problem by bringing your medicine waste to the collection event.

Please go through your medicine cabinet and determine what medicines should be discarded. Save all outdated or unused medications and pharmaceuticals in the original containers — this will make for easier identification. Bring your pharmaceutical waste material to the collection event on May 3, 2008.

A police officer will be on hand to take possession of any controlled substances. The remaining medicinal waste will be transferred to an incineration site by Clean Harbors. Tell your friends, family, work associates and neighbors that the pharmaceutical collection event will be held May 3, 2008 at the Fremont Wal-Mart.

So “Go Green” by planting trees or shrubs. Go Green by recycling as much of your waste as possible. And “Go Green” by bringing your waste prescriptions and over-the-counter medications to the collection event. Call Keep Fremont Beautiful at 727-2808 or check out the Keep Fremont Beautiful Website at www.fremontne.gov/kfb for more information.

Sue Reyzlik is executive director of Keep Fremont Beautiful.