By SHELLY HECKERT
Director of the Kosciusko Solid Waste Management District, Kosciusko County Recycling Depot

Earth Day is here! Earth Day was created by Senator Gaylord Nelson and was first celebrated on April 22, 1970. The world was polluted, recycling of plastic bottles and cans had just begun, and it was time to “man up” and take care of this planet (if you are over 40 years old, you remember the sad iconic native American Indian with the tear drop weeping for his polluted land). Earth Day was established to create excitement and to increase public support for environmentalism.

By focusing on the importance of the planet, we are inspired to take better care of it. Currently, over 180 nations recognize and participate in Earth Day. In my previous role as the Educator for the Depot, I became well known for my popular Mother Earth lesson. During this lesson, I would always ask the school children, “How many Earths do we have?” Once I did get an enthusiastic response of 17, but we all know we have one Earth, and it is our responsibility to preserve and nurture it for future generations to enjoy.

So how can you celebrate Earth Day in Kosciusko County? Saturday, April 25 from 9 a.m.  to 3 p.m., the Depot has plenty of activities for residents to participate in. Two special recycling events will take place: Secure document destruction (from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and tire recycling (this activity goes on all week April 20-25). The document destruction is free, but there is a fee to recycle tires: $1 for car tires, $5 for truck tires, and tractor tires range from $15 to $40.

Recycling isn’t all that’s happening on Saturday – KREMC and Warsaw’s Stormwater Utility will be giving away over 400 trees. Planting a tree is an excellent way to celebrate Earth Day. Plant the proper tree in the proper location, and it will begin taking care of the Earth immediately.

Theresa Sailor, Warsaw’s Stormwater Coordinator will be at the Depot all day to distribute trees and to pass on specific tree planting advice. From 10 a.m. to 12 p.m., we will have a drop-in reuse paper stationery craft with Cheryl Nimtz, and at 1:30 p.m., Juergen Voss will present a workshop on kicking off your summer vegetable garden. Let’s not forget our Litter Buster campaign.

On Saturday, stop in and pick up your litter kit. We will provide bags, vests, water (donated by Owens), snacks and special bandanas for participants. Culvers has donated tokens for a free custard to enjoy after your hard work. Full litter bags can be dropped off here at the Depot (a dumpster behind our building has been donated by Advanced Disposal) or at Stuckman’s in Syracuse. Let’s bust that litter and protect and beautify our community’s precious land after our brutal winter.

Busters who post a picture on our Facebook page (facebook.com/kcrecycling) of the most interesting piece of litter found will win a $30 certificate to our own Eco Store. Pick up your kits from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and mark your pick up destination on our map of Kosciusko County. We will have Eco Store specials (lots of new recycling items), door prizes, giveaways, recycling education and kids’ activities.

Your child can be the star of his or her own composting book. Check out our website at www.kcrecycling.com for a full list of activities. As Hillel the Elder, a wise Jewish leader once said, “If not us, who? If not now, when?” So please join us this Saturday to celebrate Earth Day. And bring some nice weather with you.