by the 2023 Summer ALPAR Youth Litter Patrollers
2023 Summer ALPAR Youth Litter Patrol’s Message for the community of Bethel, AK
Despite this summer’s rainy season, our ALPAR Youth Litter Patrollers began working in July until August’s first week of school. They were busy processing recyclables collected from our recycling program and picked up litter from different places in the community.
We would like to thank all who have been involved in keeping our community clean. Your efforts are greatly appreciated! Our ALPAR YLP processed over 285+ bags of litter and recyclables altogether! Together we shipped out 64 bags of aluminum cans and plastic bottles four times each within the two weeks of their employment. One of our biggest challenges with our recycling program is getting people to really separate their trash from their collection of aluminum beverage cans and the plastic beverage bottles.
We are not allowed to recycle the larger plastic containers and bottles that are not see through. We don’t recycle alcohol bottles and would like for people to stop including those items in their collections. We don’t recycle peanut butter containers or lotion bottles either. It’s the beverage bottles we drink from that can only be recycled, no other plastics are allowed. If the plastic bottles are larger in size that requires people to pour their beverages into cups, we don’t recycle those either. These are the rules that apply with the ALPAR Flying Cans & Plastic Bottles.
To help encourage more discipline in keeping recyclables separated from trash, we are starting a monthly raffle door prize which will be held once a month. One drawing will be made once a month. The recycling guidelines must be followed in order to participate. To enter into this contest, please don’t mix plastic cups, food containers, juice/water/milk jugs, tinfoil, glass bottles, or any other items with the Aluminum Beverage Cans/Plastic Beverage Bottles.
Please call us at 907-543-0516 to find out more information and to schedule a pickup. We do not allow people to drop recyclables off at ONC main office building.
While working with our ALPAR YLP, we do our best to help teach environmental awareness practices with the kids so that they become aware of their environmental health surroundings and to learn the important values of why we shouldn’t act reckless with certain products and household waste that don’t belong in the outdoor environments.
Everyone has the power to help prevent hazardous waste from polluting the environment. We need to create more positive avenues and learn to utilize our local resources that have the ability to recycle used motor oils for example, instead of having people not knowing where to properly discard these types of hazardous products because it forces them to toss used motor oils out into the environment.
Here are letters written by our ALPAR Youth Litter Patrol to the community.
-Mary C. Herrera-Matthais, EPA Environmental Program Director for the Orutsararmiut Native Council Natural Resources Department
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We drove around town looking for places to perform litter patrol, and Kasayuli Subdivision area was chosen by Morgan.
After we cleaned around that dumpster area on Kasayuli Road, I realized how much people don’t know how to clean up after themselves. There was even a big heavy door that nobody could lift or move. I feel that people should already know that a dumpster is for bags of trash, not furniture or doors and windows. It’s common sense. Picking up litter after people is hard work. Please don’t throw or leave your trash behind on the ground especially near dumpsters because litter is such an eyesore near dumpster areas. It becomes more of a challenge for other people to come cleanup after someone else’s mess.
We also performed litter patrol at the Bethel Boat Harbor. It didn’t seem as trashy as I thought it would be, but we filled 15 litter bags. Some of the concerns we came to realize is, after finding numerous containers of motor oil, and used motor oil containers we thought it would be best to reach out to the community and Boat Harbor Managers to put in a special request.
We think that it would be best to have special bins just for collecting motor oils and lubricants, so that it will help protect the environment from receiving unwanted contamination. I noticed if you look closely at the water along the landing areas, you can see the oil residue, polluted water. It would be great if the City of Bethel can work together on reducing hazardous waste exposure at the boat harbor and Lomack beach.
Morgan Wuya, from Bethel Alaska, ONC ALPAR Youth Litter Patrol
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Things I am learning with the ALPAR YLP Program is we pick up a lot of trash and process a lot of recyclables. We sometimes go to places that don’t look so good because of litter. One of the places we cleaned up was near a dumpster. We wore masks because the smell was terrible.
People need to stop leaving their trash behind on the ground when disposing of trash. The people who litter the ground with candy wrappers/soda cans/juice bottles/coffee cups need to learn how to put their trash in the trash cans and not on the ground because it’s not good for people to look at.
Please put your trash in your pockets or bags and take them home to throw away in your trash cans the right way so there wouldn’t have to be other people like me to clean up after you.
Elia Samuelson, from Bethel, AK, ONC ALPAR Youth Litter Patrol
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– I learned that when drums change colors, it’s because they are mixed with gas and water. We are not allowed to pick up sharp objects while litter patrolling, our boss handles those when we find them. We have to watch where we step whenever we step into grassy areas or when going into the trees near public parks/trails and we have to watch where we pick up the trash from and make sure we don’t pick litter up from private properties.
I also learned that when there is something polluting the environment, the plants and trees don’t grow well in those areas. The plants and trees look unhealthy or dying than in areas that are healthy.
Alison Agathluk, from Emmonak, AK, ONC ALPAR Youth Litter Patrol
