The Washington Elementary School PTA established a recycling drop-off station outside the school last October.

“We were just trying to find creative ways to bring in funding while still helping our community. And the recycling is helping our environment,” said Courtney Tollefson, PTA secretary.

Kari Keighley, PTA vice president, had suggested the idea after the PTA completed a project to fill about 200 gopher holes in the school’s recreational field to make it safer and more usable for students.

The PTA operates a school closet to provide students in need with items such as winter hats and gloves, and during the COVID-19 pandemic, it created “recess buckets” so each classroom could have its own recreational equipment. Improving the recreational field and playground has become its latest project, and members hope the recycling venture can help accomplish that goal. The group recently collected its first check from the sale of recyclables to go toward those future improvements.

Jill Schramm/MDN Kaiya Tollefson, right, and her sister, Kinsley, deposit flattened cardboard in the recycling container at Washington Elementary School Jan. 20.

Recycling also been a great way to show students different ways to help the environment, Keighley said. The classrooms participate in collecting items for recycling as well.

Getting set up for recycling took some effort, though.

“It’s just kind of been a learning process,” Tollefson said. The PTA connected with Earth Recycling, which agreed to cooperate on a recycling program for the PTA and helped get the necessary drop-off containers.

The project takes three forms of separated recyclables. One container takes cardboard of all types, which must be flattened. Another container takes cans and scrap paper. People can deposit any type of metal can but the cans must be bagged and bagged separately from the paper. Any type of paper, including books, is acceptable and must be bagged.

“We just need to stay on top of when the bins get filled, just because it’s been such a hit. We have been filling that bin pretty quickly,” Tollefson said.

Earth Recycling is notified when a pickup is necessary, which has been occurring once or twice a week. The PTA advises the public to not overfill the containers but to wait until later if containers are full to avoid the risk of waste blowing around in a North Dakota wind.

The containers are located near the school building at the edge of the north parking lot.

The recycling offered by the Washington School PTA is a welcomed convenience for Minot’s recycling community. Currently, the only option for general recycling is delivery to the drop-off at Earth Recycling in Glenburn.

“I’m someone who has taken trips up to Glenburn in the past, because my wife and I were committed and so is our work and our business and we want to do the right thing for current and future generations. But, boy, it is a lot easier to just have it be on the way home rather than making a special hour trip to get up there and back,” said Tim Baumann with the Facebook group Environmentally Minded People of Minot.

“I think it’s safe to say that all of us would love to see more options and a little bit more ease to recycling,” he said. “People who are able to recycle regularly also have the time and energy available to do that. But I think as life gets a little more crazy with kids and jobs and distance away from recycling centers, there become more hurdles. And so, I think all of us who advocate for recycling would just love to see more barriers removed to recycling.”

The City of Minot is working toward eventual curbside recycling.

“Curbside makes recycling available for every family,” Baumann said. “It’s an accessibility thing. It’s an equity thing. It’s just really good to have that option available.”

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Recycling

Washington Elementary School PTA

600 17th Ave. SE

Drop-off site takes flattened cardboard, paper and metal cans

Kalix

605 27th St. SE

Confidential paper shredding by appointment only

Gerdau

5801 Highway 2 E, Door 1

Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to noon and 1-5 p.m.

All types of metals. Amount of payment for clean and sorted items varies by the type of metal.

Earth Recycling

7670 23rd Ave. NW, Glenburn

Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., and occasional Saturdays