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Travis recycling program sings the 'blues'

  • Published
  • By 2nd Lt. Jessica Clark
  • 60th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs
TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. --  They are big. They are blue and they are new.

Travis is replacing the tan recycling containers with a convenient and more colorful container which will make recycling easier for Travis members.

There are approximately 160 new blue recycling containers to be replaced around our base offices and shops, said Kelly Bowman, 60th Civil Engineer Squadron contracting officer representative.

"This will have a positive impact on the recycling habits at Travis," Bowman said. "It improves the base appearance and gives all of our recyclables one place to go."

Another squadron member feels the same way.

"Everyone associates the color blue with recycling," said Dolores Tiburcio, 60th Civil Engineer Squadron solid waste program manager. "I think the color is a great visual feature to help folks place recyclables in the correct container."

The old containers on Travis are mostly brown and have labels for white paper, mixed paper, cardboard, etc., she said.

These can commonly be confused with the trash cans.

"The new blue containers are for commingling our recyclables," Tiburcio said. "This means we can place metal cans, bottles, glass, paper, cardboard, plastic containers and chipboard all in one container. The likelihood this change will increase our solid waste diversion is good and highly important."

The Travis refuse contractor, Republic Services of Fairfield and Solano Division, owns the containers on base and has agreed to provide the blue recycling containers at no additional cost as it helps standardize their colors, she said.

According to an Air Force policy on achieving efficiencies, there is a Pollution Preventative and Waste Elimination Memo that establishes waste diversion goals for the Air Force.

Travis recycled 2,804 tons of non-hazardous waste in 2012, meeting its waste diversion goal of 44 percent, Tiburcio said.

The diversion goals will only continue to rise for the future.

"The Air Force solid waste diversion goal for 2015 is 55 percent, and will increase to 60 percent by 2018 and 65 percent by 2020," she said. "This presents a challenge to team Travis, but we love challenges and can meet this goal if everyone recycles."