Conservation Klondike's recycling service draws converts

A Dawson City man has taken the town's recycling challenge into his own hands.

Derrick Hastings started the town's curbside recycling pick-up program a year ago through the Conservation Klondike Society.

Hastings, who is the president of CKS, says the City of Dawson wasn't ready to offer curb side pick up.

"Last winter I just said, 'I'm going to do this.' Because no one else was taking it on and I was just sick of looking in the landfill and seeing all the refundables thrown in the garbage."

The program serves up to 25 households who pay a monthly fee of $20. CKS also operates two recycling depots – one downtown and one at the Quigley landfill, and employs five people.

'A conscious society'

Hastings wants people to see how much waste they produce. "That is definitely the goal – to create a conscious society, and to reduce waste first," he said.

"A lot of paper products probably would have been burned, a lot of cans would have ended up in the garbage," Hastings said.

"I've got two or three people who didn't recycle before to actually start recycling, by offering them the service, because they were just too busy with their lives and not really that conscious of recycling."

As for next steps, Hastings wants to see glass crushed locally in Dawson and to see paper turned into pellets for fuel. He's also urging the town to restrict plastic bags and bottles.