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Recycling provides substantial return on investment

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Sam Fogleman
  • 92nd Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs
FAIRCHILD AIR FORCE BASE, Wash. --  Team Fairchild accomplished the task of recycling or reusing approximately 1,000 tons of material during the 2015 calendar year. Noticeable items around the base that fall under that categorization are cardboard, plastics, wood pallets, aluminum cans, paper products and several other items.

Recycled materials, including those from the Fairchild community, are part of the global marketplace.

"China is one place where the United States sends our recycled materials," said Diane Wulf, 92nd Civil Engineer Squadron pollution prevention program manager. "It is a global market in the sense that Chinese companies can purchase the recycled materials that are sent across the Pacific so they can be remanufactured into new goods." There are many places in the United States that also remanufacture recycled materials into new products.

Fairchild Airmen are directly responsible for the base maintaining a good return on investment for the government and taxpayers in general.

"We make sure we get what we're paying for," said Staff Sgt. Daniel Mayhan, 92nd CES NCO in charge of service contracts. "We write it into the contract. What's always been our bread and butter for a good ROI is cardboard, so the more cardboard recycled around the base, the more bang we get for our buck. We also ask that offices around the base continue to recycle wood pallets rather than throw them out."

Direct recycling outsourcing is not the only aspect of Fairchild's reuse program. Reuse itself is a significant way to avoid reusable material ending up as refuse.

"Our scrap metal goes through Defense Logistics Agency Disposition Services (the old DRMO)," Wulf said. "At the Commissary, they do food donations to operations like Second Harvest, one of the local food banks. Many items can be donated directly to the Airmen's Attic."

The dramatic drop in oil prices since 2014 has enabled a greater deal of transpacific shipment of recycled materials.

"Anything made out of petroleum has been affected by the global price of crude oil," said Bill Teuton, Fairchild Recycling Center manager. "The oil price also has an effect on whether it makes economic sense to ship recycled materials to other cities or countries for remanufacturing or if they are utilized in a more local framework."

The Fairchild Recycling Center is a focal point for the base community to help with making the resources we use become available for reuse once again.

The Recycling Center also has a moving box program, which is important to note during permanent change of station season. "We reused about 4.5 tons of moving boxes in calendar year 2015," Wulf added.

The moving box program operates on a first come, first serve basis. Event recycling containers for plastic or aluminum beverage containers are available for squadron functions such as picnics. They can be obtained from the Recycling Center directly.

For further information, please call the Fairchild Recycling Center at (509) 247-2885 or Diane Wulf at (509) 247-8155.