Employees comb ditches to clean up community

“It’s one of those things that need to be done,”

Capital Electric employees Justin Morgan, Seth Lothspeich, Perry Ptacek, Jim Siirtola, Judy Ruzicka and Trent Stein use pokers provided by the city’s Public Works department to pick up trash outside of co-op headquarters in Bismarck.

says
Gordy Wiese about the second annual spring clean-up held on April 20. More than 20 managers and employees combed the ditches surrounding cooperative headquarters in Bismarck, picking up trash. They were joined by two employees from the Bureau of Criminal Investigation and one from Stan Puklich Chevrolet.

Wiese, the operations supervisor at Capital Electric, says employees bagged three pick-up truck loads’ worth of trash, which accumulated over the past year. While it’s disheartening to collect so much litter, Wiese says it’s rewarding to see the cooperative work together with business neighbors to restore the beauty of the area.

“I feel the success is in the action the employees took to clean up a small piece of our community.”

Next spring, Wiese says he plans to broaden the clean-up effort by inviting more neighbors to take part.

RECYCLING FAST FACTS:

Did you know?
• Approximately 225 tons of trash are collected from the city of Bismarck and surrounding areas
• The Municipal Solid Waste landfill located at 52nd Street and East Divide will be filled to capacity some time in the next 20 to 50 years
• Approximately 1/3 of all garbage taken to the landfill could be recycled
• Items that can be recycled include paper, cardboard, aluminum, tin, and some plastics
• Each person CAN make a difference!

“People choose to be more ‘green’ to save the environment,” says according to Galen Bren, recycling specialist for the city of Bismarck in the Public Works department. “It’s about doing the right thing for the good of the earth.”

For more information on what to recycle and where, visit www.bismarck.org and select the department “Public Works” and click on “Recycling Program.”