Visitors to some Iowa State Parks may soon be able to recycle items that are currently ending up in the trash. Jim Lawson is overseeing a recycling pilot project involving 10 state parks for the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. He says similar efforts have been tried a smaller scale in the past.
“But, we think it’s time to try it again,” Lawson told Radio Iowa. “People are much more cognizant of recycling efforts than they were five or 10 years ago. Some of the problems we had were people misusing the containers, putting normal refuse in them. We have different containers that will prevent some of that.” Lawson is hoping to implement the new recycling program this summer after receiving a lot of comments from campers.
“I’m sure we’ll be starting with basic things, possibly cardboard, aluminum, clear glass and things like that,” Lawson said. “We’ll probably start off with the basics and see how that goes.” It’s not immediately clear how much the pilot project will cost the DNR to implement.
“We hope to develop some partnerships, possibly with local vendors or organizations, and we’re looking at the possibility of partnering with some local civic organizations to sponsor the cost of the program,” Lawson said.
The 10 state parks selected for the pilot project are Gull Point near Milford, Clear Lake, Lake Ahquabi near Indianola, Big Creek in Polk County, Rock Creek in Jasper County, Ledges in Boone, Lake Manawa in Council Bluffs, George Wyth (with) in Waterloo, Pleasant Creek in Linn County and Lake Macbride State Park in Johnson County.