With the warm weather of spring and summer comes the scramble to recycle the assortment of junk that Haines residents have accumulated over the past year. As KHNS’ Brandon Wilks reports, the nonprofit Haines Friends of Recycling is meeting that annual need.

Haines Friends of Recycling has been operating in Haines for nearly 25 years. The local, 

Nonprofit organization boasts 125 volunteers and over twice as many members including families, businesses and organizations. Board member Melissa Aronson has been interested in recycling since the first Earth Day in 1970 when she was a junior high science teacher and joined the Friends of Recycling when she moved to Haines in 2005. Since then the group has expanded the types of waste that they recycle, including the two electronic recycling days held the first week of June, an annual tradition going on 17 years.

Aronson says they started doing electronic recycling in 2007.

Aronson: “That was the year that the school moved from the old building into the current building. And between the school moving and doing a lot of cleanup and just a backlog of electronics. At that point, that first year, we were overwhelmed with over 25,000 pounds of electronics. We’ve been doing this now, every year. And in 2023, we took in 10,192 pounds. Our total for the 17 years is 233,693 pounds of electronics that have been sent out for recycling.”

All electronics gathered are shipped to Zender Environmental Health and Research Group in Seattle for proper recycling. While the Friends of Recycling center is open year-round, Aronson points to the active role that the group plays in the community during the warmer months.

Aronson: “We do so many things. In April we do Earth Day. In June, we do the electronic recycling, we do the zero waste for the fisherman’s barbecue, we clean up the parade grounds and Tlingit park after the bike race. This year, we’re doing our scrap metal recycling June 30 and July 1, then in July, we do zero waste at Tlingit Park during the picnic. And then we provide all kinds of electronic or excuse me, all kinds of services to the fair to keep the food court, a zero waste event. And then in the middle of all of that we do fishnet recycling a couple of times. So it’s a busy summer.”

The next special recycling days will be June 30th and July 1st when the Haines recycling center will be taking in scrap metal. Thanks to a grant from the Borough, this year scrap metal recycling will be free for households, though Aronson outlines some limitations.

Aronson: “We’re asking that nobody bring any more than 100 pounds of scrap metal to us. When we didn’t put that limit on, we ended up with 7, 40-foot vans of scrap metal. And that was just ridiculous. It was overwhelming. So a limit of 100 pounds per household. And it is a focus on household. If anybody shows up with a dump truck, we’re gonna turn around and send them home. So please separate steel from any other metals. We’re looking primarily for steel at this event, and a magnet will tell you if it’s steel or not because magnet sticks to steel but not to the other kinds of metal. Make sure the steel is no more than four feet in length in any direction. 

Aluminum, copper, brass and stainless steel can also be recycled if separated, as well as motors if drained of any fluids. She says that over 700,000 lbs of steel have been shipped out of Haines since 2010. She says without the services of the Friends of recycling, Haines would look like a different place.

Aronson: “So if it wasn’t for Haines Friends of Recycling, there would be either a whole lot more stuff stashed in people’s houses and garages or along the side of the road, or the landfill would be filling up really fast. And then the citizens would be having to look at the cost of a new landfill, which is, you know, siting and the cost of that very expensive. So we’re saving everybody in the community a lot of money by the services that we provide.”

With the difficulty of recycling in a remote town like Haines, Aronson gives all of the credit to the volunteers who she says selflessly give their time.

Aronson: “Well, amazing town you know, there’s so many people here that volunteer and in my opinion, it is a nonprofits and it’s the volunteers that support the nonprofits that make this such a wonderful place to live.”

Haines Friends of Recycling is asking residents to hold off on bringing in any appliances during their two days of scrap metal recycling.

More information on how to volunteer and membership forms can be found on their website, hainesrecycle.org

 

Haines Friends of Recycling has also begun a radio segment on KHNS once a month called Talking Trash. With the next scheduled August 1st.