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45th Annual Earth Day

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Taylor Bourgeous
  • 92nd Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs
FAIRCHILD AIR FORCE BASE, Wash. --  The nation celebrated the 45th annual Earth Day April 22 where Team Fairchild re-emphasized its standing commitment to environmental stewardship and encouraged its military and civilian workforce to promote recycling both at home and on the job, and asking them to leverage available opportunities to "Conserve Today - Secure Tomorrow."

"Celebrating Earth Day is an important way for all members of Fairchild, our community and our country to re-energize our commitment to the broad range of environmental programs that ensure the protection of Earth for all future generations," said Diane Wulf, 92nd Civil Engineer Squadron pollution prevention program manager.

Installations across the enterprise took action to meet the Department of Defense's strategic sustainability performance plan goal of diverting 55 percent of non-hazardous solid waste and 100 percent of electronics waste, this fiscal year and beyond.

"This is the highest diversion goal in the history of Air Force diversion efforts," said Nancy Carper, subject matter expert on integrated solid waste management at the Air Force Civil Engineer Center.

Meeting these goals requires diligence and participation from everyone. From the recycling center manager looking for new ways to expand services to office workers taking advantage of all available opportunities to recycle and not throwing out items like paper, plastic, aluminum cans and cardboard, Carper said.

Keeping abreast of recycling trends and opportunities helped the recycling program at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas, "increase recycling volume from 450,000 pounds annually 14 years ago to almost five million pounds annually today," said Jesse Salinas, qualified recycling program manager there.

"Fairchild has a comprehensive recycling program that collects a wide variety of recyclable materials including cardboard, all paper products, plastics, glass, metal and aluminum cans, toner and inkjet cartridges and many other materials," said Wulf.  "All workplaces on base participate in the recycling program."

In an age of growing technology, the need for effective electronics recycling has garnered national attention.

While all Air Force-owned electronic equipment is required to be recycled through Defense Logistics Agency Disposition Services, the Air Force is encouraging its workforce to take proactive steps to keep home electronics out of the waste stream and is encouraging individuals to take advantage of the U.S. Postal Service's Blue Earth Federal Recycling Program.  Established in 2013, the program makes it easier for  individuals to recycle personally owned ink cartridges and unwanted electronic devices free of charge using the postal network.

Air Force and other federal employees can send eligible electronics items through the mail to a certified recycler at no cost. Upon receipt, data are wiped from the devices to ensure privacy and information protection.

"All electronics must be turned into the Defense Logistics Agency Disposition Services Office, who in turn ships them off-base and ensures they are properly recycled," Wulf said.

This year, the Air Force is once again asking Airmen and their families to logon to the "Blue Acts of Green" Facebook page at www.facebook.com/blueactsofgreen  to share recycling and other environmentally-friendly practices they commit to perform everyday as well as learn what other families are doing across the country to protect one of Earth's most precious natural resources.

For more information on the Air Force's Earth Day efforts, visit http://www.afcec.af.mil/news/earthday.

Editor's Note: Information in this article was provided by Secretary of the Air Force Public Affairs.