Tell us about your organization.
Since 2012, Keep Cass County Beautiful, a nonprofit and an affiliate of Keep America Beautiful has provided environmental services for all of Cass County. We have set a new and ambitious goal in Cass County to reduce waste by encouraging the use of reusable and/or compostable items as an alternative to disposables. Many of the challenges regarding waste and litter would be solved by cutting out single use products-namely plastics so we’re trying to be more proactive with this new approach. We educate thousands of children and adults in Cass County each year by delivering enviro lessons tailored to children as young as preschool aged to adult through workshops, after school programs, summer school programs and our yearly Fall and spring enviro lessons at the schools.
We provide recycling at as many events in Cass County as is possible with our current number of staff and volunteers. Our largest event is the Cass County Fair but this year, we also recycled for the Cattlemen’s Ball which was attended by several thousand people. We recycle cardboard, glass, plastics, and cans. Recently, we purchased a subscription for composting through Soil Dynamics and plan to purchase compostable products to be used at Holiday events as a pilot program to encourage the transition away from plastic and foam products. In addition, we host spring and fall electronic recycling collections each year and host at many different locations throughout the county to give everyone a chance to recycle. We also assist with the annual household hazardous waste collection. We plan and provide supplies for multiple fall and spring litter cleanups all over the county every year. We also facilitate recycling at many schools in Cass County by providing recycling bins, applying for grants for recycling trailers and even training students how to run a successful recycling program. We received a grant this year to plant 13 trees and have volunteers that tend to flower beds throughout the community to provide beauty and pollinator habitat. Last year we started a pumpkin recycling/compost collection and a Holiday light recycling collection as well which were very successful, and we plan to do again this year. There are so many more things that KCCB is involved with, but these are the main programs.
What are your sustainability goals and initiatives?
KCCB has the vision and dream of making Cass County the Greenest County in Nebraska! It’s quite an ambitious goal vision and we know it won’t happen overnight, but we keep working towards it through small changes. We encourage businesses and individuals to reduce waste by thinking reduce and reuse first for example using reusable bags, cups & carry out containers. Our hope is that someday, it will be the status quo to think “reuse” first. In addition, we are working with several organizations to transition to compostable containers for large events in which disposables are necessary. We have built up a network of individuals and organizations committed to picking up litter twice yearly to keep our county looking Beautiful. We created an “Adopt a Spot” program where individuals pick a spot in Cass County and take ownership of that area by keeping it litter free. Another large initiative we have is assisting schools in Cass County to recycle by cost sharing the purchase of recycle bins, helping to teach Best Practices for recycling and creating Enviro clubs that are autonomous.
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