Did you know …

By the 1960s, people around the world were becoming alarmed about growing levels of environmental contamination. Pollution was fouling the air, lakes, rivers, and vacant land. In the United States, the push for reform was enough that the U.S. government passed a number of laws designed to reduce pollution and protect the environment. And the pressure to cleanup the environment extended to waste management. In 1965 the U.S. Congress passed the Solid Waste and Disposal Act, establishing guidelines for the safe collection and disposal of household and business trash. The act was designed to help state and local governments to switch from dumps to sanitary landfills. In 1970 U.S. President Richard Nixon directed Congress to create the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) whose work included ensuring that landfills did not contaminate air, land, and water. And recycling programs began in the 1970s.

Solving the trash problem begins at home. We all make a difference.

Information provided by ReGroup, a nonprofit educational group, formed in 1989 to develop public awareness of waste reduction, reuse, and recycling benefits on Alaska’s Kenai Peninsula. ReGroup meets September through May, every third Monday of the month at 6:30 p.m. at Hope Community Center on Princeton Avenue off Kalifornsky Beach Road. Find ReGroup on Facebook or contact at regroupkenaipeninsula@gmail.com.