Environmental Fair promotes composting, other recycling

“That was made out of pop cans? That’s awesome,” Hannah Sanger, science and environment division manager for the city of Pocatello, said about a piece of recycled artwork.

Artwork, and even some clothes were made from 100 percent recyclable materials, businesses promoting their environmentally-friendly products and even vehicles that have no engine because they run purely on electricity were all features at the 2014 Portneuf Valley Environmental Fair.

“Every booth you can learn something,” Sanger said. “Whether it’s thinking about insulating your home, turning down you thermostat or thinking about solar or wind energy.”

Even simple things, like a special garment bag that’s reusable or recycling your propane tanks.

Sanger says one big thing you can do to help keep our water clean is by properly disposing of medications. One way to do this is through the city’s drug take-back program.

“Any time you flush meds down the toilet, it ends up going through our wastewater treatment plant,” Sanger said, “which means all the meds go back into the Portneuf River.”

Sanger says the city is also working on a way to get a composting system working throughout the city.

“We’re trying now to get our composting up,” she said. “We hope they will be thinking about the recycling of food waste and yard waste, and thinking about how they can turn it into compost instead of just sending it to the landfill.”

She said the city has 500 residents currently testing the composting program, but the city is having a hard time finding people to buy the compost, which anyone can do.

“There’s a lot of people who can fill a whole bin with just grass clippings,” Sanger said, “and you can go buy it up at the landfill for $25 a ton.”

Sanger said that’s why they have the environmental fair and so many activities for the kids as well. The kids can learn about preserving their environment while having some fun on a beautiful Saturday.