‘Keep it Green, Stay Clean!’ Published Sept. 12, 2014 By 78th Environmental Management Branch ROBINS AIR FORCE BASE, Ga. -- Pollution prevention will be the buzz word next week as Environmental Management spreads the word about its importance. Pollution Prevention Week begins the third Monday in September and is an opportunity for individuals and the government to emphasize and highlight their pollution prevention and sustainability activities and achievements, expand current pollution prevention efforts and commit to new actions. What is Pollution Prevention? Pollution prevention is reducing or eliminating waste at the source by modifying production processes, promoting the use of non-toxic or less toxic substances, implementing conservation techniques and reusing materials rather than putting them into the waste stream. National Pollution Prevention Policy The best way to protect Earth and its people is to stop creating pollution in the first place. That realization became America's official policy in 1990 with the federal Pollution Prevention Act's declaration that pollution should be prevented or reduced at the source whenever feasible. Under Section 6602 (b) of the Pollution Prevention Act of 1990, Congress established a national policy that: *Pollution should be prevented or reduced at the source when feasible; *Pollution that can't be prevented should be recycled in an environmentally safe manner when feasible; *Pollution that can't be prevented or recycled should be treated in an environmentally safe manner when feasible; and *Disposal or release into the environment should be a last resort and should be done in an environmentally safe manner. Recycling at Robins Air Force Base Robins has several locations where people can drop off recyclable goods. Those locations include: *Bldg. 987 - the base Recycling Center, near the Base Exchange, accepts newspaper, magazines, phone books, aluminum, plastics (Types I&II only), cardboard, glass and toner cartridges. Examples of Types I&II plastics include milk jugs, soda bottles, toys. Plastic will be marked as Type I (PET) or Type II (HDPE). Robins can't recycle plastics that are marked with a number other than I or II. *Forest Park, near Officers Circle East and Holly Drive Intersection, accepts: newspaper, magazines, phone books, aluminum cans, and plastics (Types I&II only). *Turner Park, at the intersection of Lanier Drive and Oglethorpe Circle, accepts: newspaper, magazines, phone books, aluminum cans and plastics. *The Museum of Aviation's recycling station in the front parking lot near the picnic area accepts: newspaper, magazines, phone books, aluminum, plastics, cardboard and glass. There is additional cardboard dumpster on the opposite corner of the parking lot. For larger quantities of cardboard, call 478-327-9283 or Happy Hour at 478-929-6624. In addition to the above items, Robins also recycles scrap metals, electronics, used oil and fuel, grass and bush clippings, leaves, and small limbs and branches. What can you do? Be an active participant in the recycling program at Robins. Please separate your recyclable materials and drop them off at one of the locations listed above. For details, call Casey Lucas, Solid Waste/Qualified Recycling Program Manager at 497-9283.