Sisters is a recycling-savvy town

Sisters has a long history of recycling - and none of it has been mandated by the government. Rather, in the unique way that Sisters often moves forward on issues, it has been done by concerned citizens who saw a need.

In the early 1990s, Sisters did not have an official recycling center, but Peter and Joey White saw the need and filled the gap. An old camping trailer was donated and converted into a recycle collection site for cardboard and plastic. It was parked on the street, where residents could deposit their materials without charge. About once a month, the Whites would pull the trailer to the Deschutes County Landfill collection site.

In the beginning, the Whites did the dirty work of hauling out the flattened cardboard and nasty old food containers. However, as more and more residents started depositing their cardboard and plastic, the amount of time between trips to the landfill began to shorten, and the project became overwhelming for the Whites, who were donating their time.

The torch was finally passed to the City of Sisters and refinements were initiated that allowed the system to evolve into what exists today. And now that the city's recycling center has outgrown its neighborhood, the city is working toward developing a recycling center in the Sisters Industrial Park.

Because of the high level of community involvement, more recycling is accomplished in Sisters at the grassroots level than in many communities that have extensive ordinances and official policies.

Eileen Stein, Sisters City Manager, said, " Recycling in Sisters grew up organically. It was the right thing to do. …we encourage recycling."

She explained that, unlike some communities, there are no regulations for recycling, yet a large part of the population does recycle.

The Sisters School District is another example of how in the absence of specific recycling policies, there is enough sense of community to accomplish the job.

Superintendent Ted Thonstad said, "We don't have an actual policy. The buildings tend to do that on their own, some better than others."

Thonstad explained that it has not been necessary to issue guidelines or adopt a policy for recycling to the schools. He explained that there are different student groups that have taken on this project at both the middle school and high school.

Although these forays into recycling by student groups are somewhat periodic in nature, the students do a great job according to Thonstad. He said that historically the elementary school's staff has always done "a pretty good job of recycling."

Rebecca Hanford, a Sisters High School senior, has been involved in recycling both at home and at school, explaining that she has been recycling for a long time so that when she goes to school it seems completely natural to continue there.

Recycling is not an option for Hanford. She says, "If we expect to preserve our way of life, we need to take action now."

Many businesses in Sisters have found their own solutions without needing to be roped into the sense of community through ordinances or regulations. Mackenzie Creek Trading Co., a new Sisters shop, immediately jumped into the spirit. Marilyn Mumey, co-owner, reported that they recycle all of their cardboard and other paper products at the city's recycle center. However, in a innovative twist to the issue of recycling, she said, "We take all our bubble wrap over to The Pony Express so they can reuse it."

Jeremy Rollins of Rollins Automotive said the shop recycles "about everything." He said that they recycle the waste oil, antifreeze and batteries and that the parts they take off of cars are separated so that the aluminum goes one way, steel another and those that can be rebuilt go another.

Rollins reflected that they have recycled as a business as long as he can remember, saying his father began the process a long time ago and he grew up with it. He worries about how some people have such a disregard for the environment that they just dump antifreeze out on the ground.

"I love my forest, and I sure hope that it is there for my boys," he said.

Rick Murray of The Pony Express indicated that the business wanted to go beyond just recycling cardboard through the city program. The Pony Express decided to recycle both ink jet and toner cartridges, which keeps these items out of landfills. The business also recycles bubble wrap and packing peanuts, which provides not only a service for their clientele but also conserves the energy of melting down the products in a recycling center.