KMXT 100.1 FM Public Radio in Kodiak, Alaska
Saturday, May 8th the Kodiak Chamber of Commerce will be holding a community clean-up day wherein volunteers will work to pick up trash of all kinds from around the island. In addition to the satisfaction of living in a cleaner community, attendees will also enjoy a free hot dog lunch with chips and drinks to celebrate afterwards.
The whole waste management community is pitching in too. According to Jena Lowmaster of the Kodiak Chamber of Commerce, nearly all types of waste will be processed. Threshold recycling will be taking household electronic waste free of charge, and they’re not the only ones. Nick’s Auto Wrecking Salvage will be accepting residential metals free of charge for the whole day, the landfill will be accepting up to 250 pounds of residential waste free of charge, and the Kodiak Island Borough will be offering free disposal of household hazardous waste up to 100 pounds per person.
“So, collect unwanted household hazardous waste from your home, which would include like floor care products, bug sprays, car battery, used oil, paint thinners, used paints, old paints, and bring those– a lot of those are harmful to the environment, you don’t want to put them in the trash,” Lowmaster said. “So, it’s perfect time to kind of collect all that stuff and get rid of it.”
There are, of course, some things that won’t be accepted.
“One thing to know is that service does not include disposal of explosives, medical waste, asbestos or anything radioactive,” Lowmaster said.
So be sure to leave the nuclear waste at home.
Like any good sport, cleaning up Kodiak is a team event. You’ll be working with other people to clear up certain areas of the island.
“You pick up your bags at high school and you select your location on a map. When you come to the high school with… typically you’ll come with a team of people, or several people, you’ll pick out an area you’d like to go pick up your trash, and you’ll go pick up your trash—you’ll leave your bags off to the side of the curb, and Threshold teams will go around and pick up the bags after one o’clock. And that’s pretty much it,” Lowmaster said.
Those interested can find out more and sign up at the Chamber’s Facebook page. The general battery of social distancing rules apply, and the event begins at the May 8th at Kodiak High School at 9am and goes to 1pm.
