A recycling pilot project for aluminum cans and No. 1 PET plastic bottles has been launched in four state parks — Bogue Chitto, Fairview-Riverside, Fontainebleau and Tickfaw State Parks — complete with high visibility bins where the materials can be easily discarded.
Its sponsors hope the program will reduce recyclable material going to landfills or ending up in waterways and alongside Louisiana roadsides.
This pilot project is made possible through a grant from the Louisiana Beverage Association, whose member companies say they manufacture 100% recyclable bottles and cans, and in coordination with the Pontchartrain Conservancy and the Osprey Initiative.
Materials will be collected, sorted, the trash contamination removed, and collection totals recorded on a biweekly basis. Data collected over the course of the pilot project will be used to develop best practices and determine how to scale up the program and expand into other state parks.
“Litter negatively impacts Louisiana in so many ways hurting the environment, quality of life and economic development,” said Lt. Gov. Billy Nungesser, whose office helped spearhead the project and announced it in tandem with the Office of State Parks.
All recycled bottles and cans will be processed at a local materials recovery facility. To learn more about the pilot program, go to the Let Louisiana Shine Park Recycling Program webpage.
This story originally appeared on NOLA.com. View the original story online here.
