Lack of curbside recycling means family must get creative
Brett and Yvonne Matherne in Luling go above and beyond to recycle and reuse.
The couple even has their children, Nick, 8, and Bailey, 6, in on the action.
Besides having a composter in their backyard, the family of four turns what most people consider garbage into craft supplies, flower vases and much more.
And their efforts have payed off, sparing the earth thousands of pounds of trash a year. After recycling everything they possibly can, the Mathernes contribute only about two garbage cans full of trash a month to the local dump.
“We do what we can when we can,” Yvonne said. “You just try to incorporate it into your lifestyle.”
It all began when the family lived in Atlanta and participated in curbside recycling there.
After moving to St. Charles Parish five years ago, they continued to participate in curbside recycling, but soon Hurricane Katrina hit the area and put an end to the program.
The Mathernes still go to extraordinary lengths to reduce, reuse and recycle in their own home.
“We take plastic bags from the grocery store to the farmers’ market and use them as garbage bags, we use shoe boxes for storage boxes, we bring jars back to vendors at the farmers’ market or use them for little vases,” Yvonne said of her family’s recycling habits.
She said that the family donates clothes to Social Concerns and donates printer cartridges to the schools, which can then exchange them for money. They save ordinary items, such as paper rolls and plastic, and repurpose them for craft projects. They even repurposed an old suitcase as a dress-up box for their 6-year-old daughter, Bailey.
They also participate in the parish’s monthly recycling drop-off events. They spend the entire month filling up two large garbage cans to take to the events.
“Anything that the parish accepts for recycling, we recycle,” Yvonne said. “I hate not being able to recycle glass, though.”
St. Charles Parish uses The Recycling Foundation for the monthly recycling events.
Tammy Cheatham, vice president of commercial services for the foundation, said that not accepting glass is common in the recycling business.
“Unfortunately, glass is a commodity that has no market (it is cheaper to make new glass than to work with recycled glass). We are forced to pulverize the glass and haul it off at an enormous expense,” Cheatham said. “At this time, or until markets for used glass develop, we are at capacity with the glass we already receive. In addition, it causes significant damage and wear to our trucks and equipment,
“This is definitely an industry-wide problem, not limited to the Recycling Foundation.”
After participating in recycling events, the Matherne family decided to start composting because Yvonne likes to garden and she could use the compost in her yard.
“Anything that we use in the kitchen that can be composted we do, and then we use the compost in our flower beds,” Yvonne said.
Rene Schmit, the St. Charles Parish County Agent with LSU AgCenter, said that composting is a great way to reuse materials that are normally garbage.
“The benefits of composting are being able to utilize yard waste into making a nutrient-enriched soil that can be added to existing soil for improved texture and moisture holding capacity,” Schmit said.
The LSU AgCenter on Paul Maillard Road in Luling offers community education classes on backyard composting in the fall.
But Brett and Yvonne don’t just compost to make their yard look nicer, and helping the environment isn’t the only reason they recycle.
“We think it’s important for the environment not to be filling up the landfills,” Yvonne said. “We also do it to help teach our kids about natural resources and responsibility.”
Apparently, the children are catching on.
“Our daughter is learning too because Nickelodeon does a program called ‘The Big Green Help.’ When we were in Grand Isle for New Year’s, (Bailey) wanted to go to the beach with trash bags to clean up the beach as part of ‘The Big Green Help,’” Yvonne said. “So, we did.”
Rene Allemand Simpson, public information officer for the parish, said that the Mathernes don’t seem to be the only parishioners interested in helping the environment.
Simpson said that each month, the parish collects about 6.5 tons, or 13,000 lbs., of recyclables during the drop-off events.
“We feel like we’re getting pretty good participation. Some weeks I’ve been out there and it’s a constant stream of cars,” Simpson said. “The administration would like to see more participating and a better way, but for now it’s a good option and it’s working well.”
Simpson said that she believes residents of St. Charles Parish understand the problem a little better than those in Orleans or Jefferson parishes.
“A lot of people who travel Highway 90 and that area are familiar with where the landfills are and where the trash goes, so we know what impact they have. It’s something in the forefront for people who live around here,” Simpson said.
Simpson added that the parish still hopes more residents will start participating in the drop-off events because the area has many challenges in implementing recycling.
“In south Louisiana, it’s cheaper to throw something away than it is to recycle it, so that’s what we’re up against,” she said.
To learn more about the parish’s recycling program, including drop-off dates and locations, visit www.StCharlesGov.net.
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