SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — Illinois State Fair officials say they’re ramping up recycling as part of an effort to have the most eco-friendly fair in the country.
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — Illinois State Fair officials say they’re ramping up recycling as part of an effort to have the most eco-friendly fair in the country.
More than 25,000 pounds of aluminum, cardboard and plastic was recycled last year, and this year, paper has been added to the effort, the State Journal-Register in Springfield, Ill., reported.
The recycling project was formalized four years ago, when officials set a goal of running the nation’s most sustainable fair, Manager Amy Bliefnick said.
This year, 200 trash and recycling containers were placed around the fairgrounds, more than doubling last year’s number.
Illinois prison inmates provide the labor through a partnership between the fair and Illinois Correctional Industries, a division of the state Corrections Department.
The materials are sorted and baled at Logan Correctional Center in Lincoln, then sold to recycling and redistribution companies. Revenue from aluminum sales goes to the Combined Veterans Association of Illinois; revenue from other items helps pay for Corrections Department training and education programs.
The fair also uses some of the livestock manure to fertilize Correctional Industries gardens, and used cooking oil is sent to the Vandalia Correction Center, where it is reprocessed into biofuel for use in Corrections Department vehicles.
Besides recycling, inmates also grow flowers that are planted in flower beds and hanging baskets throughout the fairgrounds.
“There is a lot more we can do, and we’re taking small steps as we go,” Bliefnick said.