The Posse recycling and medical equipment programs need your help

The Posse recycling and medical equipment programs provide a very important and well received service to area residents. The income from the recycling service helps fund the free medical equipment short-term loan program as well as providing operating funds for the local Posse patrol services. These two services are staffed with Posse associate volunteers. We are in need of additional volunteers to fully staff the office, medical equipment and recycling functions. With additional volunteer help we can be assured of keeping the office and Medical Equipment Program open Monday to Friday from 9:00 a.m.-12:30 p.m. during the summer and 9:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m. during the winter, as well as additional hours of customer help with recycling. The Posse Medical Equipment Program is in need of additional donated medical equipment, particularly wheelchairs and companion chairs.

The Recycling Program is facing some critical challenges. In order to keep the income at the present level it is necessary for customers to put all paper products which consist of newspapers, magazines, phone books, documents and miscellaneous papers, etc. in the “paper only” bins. Paper products are used to make insulation. Corrugated and regular cardboard such as cereal boxes contain glues that cannot be used in insulation. All other recyclable items such as flat cardboard, clean plastic containers, aluminum and metal cans need to be put in the “co-mingle” bins. This separation of recyclable items is outlined in the dos and don’ts brochure. The brochure also lists the most common non-recyclable items that customers should not put in the bins. At the present time the recycle volunteers are filling an average of eight curbside garbage bins each week with non-recyclable items which must be removed from the bins and results in additional cost for curbside pickup. It is important for every company to consider the idea of recycling, by doing something as simple as investing in waste balers, which will help to manage the waste of materials in offices.

We also need your help in breaking down all cardboard boxes, large and small, after removing all non-recyclable items. It would be a great help if you would remove the caps from all clean plastic containers and flatten the milk jugs and water bottles. By reducing the cardboard boxes to flat cardboard and flattening the milk jugs and water bottles it increases the tonnage in each bin by 50 percent or more. If the recycling company has to make additional unnecessary pickups, pay their employees to sort the additional items and remove non-recyclable items they will have no alternative to either substantially reduce the amount paid to the Posse or cancel the service.

Please help us to help you by doing your part to keep these vital programs operating at maximum efficiency. Thank you for your continuous and generous support of the Sun Lakes Sheriff’s Posse. The entire Posse officers and associate members are working hard to earn your confidence and to help make Sun Lakes a better and safer place to live.

What is recyclable through the Sun Lakes Sheriff’s Posse Recycling Station:

Your donations to the Recycling Center provide Sun Lakes Sheriff’s Posse with revenue used in its continuing service to all residents of Sun Lakes. Recycling also lessens the impact of waste material on our landfills and helps to ensure a cleaner Arizona!

Do

Paper Only Bins: Newspapers, junk mail, phone books, magazines, brown paper bags, documents and office papers.

Commingled Bins: Flat cardboard, clean plastic containers, aluminum and metal cans.

Don’t: We do not accept the following items: Styrofoam and all foam products, carpet, plastic bags (except for shredded paper), bubble wrap, plastic sheeting, plastic wrapping, plastic strapping, wood or any type of wood products, furniture, electronics of any type, furnace filters, fuel, oil, paint, garbage, plants or landscape items and mirrors of any kind.

No Glass

Thank you for your continued support of the Sun Lakes Sheriff’s Pose Recycling Center!

Sun Lakes Sheriff’s Posse, 9531 East Riggs Road, Sun Lakes Arizona 85248; phone 480-895-8751; fax 895-6691; [email protected]; www.sunlakesposse.org.