Team BLAZE is green for Earth Day

Published May 5, 2017
By Airman 1st Class Beaux Hebert
14th Flying Training Wing Public Affairs

COLUMBUS AIR FORCE BASE, Miss. -- For the last 47 years, April 22, Earth Day, has been a day where the focus is on the environment.

Columbus Air Force Base is all about being ecofriendly and making sure that our mission to Produce Pilots, Advance Airmen and Feed the Fight doesn’t compromise the environment.

The first Earth Day was in 1970, a year after a massive oil spill in 1969. U.S. Senator Gaylord Nelson is known as the founder of the holiday, as he used the incident to teach the public how much of an effect humans had on the environment. Nelson’s support came from the college age group, hence why Earth Day falls between spring break and final exams.

Some things Team BLAZE members do to help the environment are take part in voluntary base clean ups with Frank Lockhart, 14th Civil Engineer Squadron, use hybrid vehicles at Vehicle Operations and also use the base’s recycling program.

The Recycling Center is one of the biggest way Columbus contributes to the environment. Their work stops landfills in Mississippi from filling up even faster than what they already are.

There are multiple items that people can recycle. Paper, cardboard, glass, oil, wood including tree branches, electronics, batteries, plastics and all kinds of metals are just a few common items that can easily be tossed into a recycle bin versus the trash.

Mike Blythe, 14th Civil Engineer Squadron Solid Waste Qualified Recycling Program Manager, said Mississippi is not opening up anymore landfills and so Columbus has to do all we can to prevent filling up the space that is left.

“The more trash we can recycle, the better off we are,” Blythe said.
Not only does recycling help the environment, Blythe said it saves money and lots of it. He said it is approximately $350 cheaper per ton to recycle than to just throw trash away.

The recyclables the center collects are sold in separate categories to different bidders. The glass they collect is turned into sand and potting soil, the printer toners are shipped back to their manufacturers, the metal is sold to a local scrapper and the list continues on.

The center even encourages Team BLAZE members who live off base to bring their recyclables on base as it helps support the cause.
“People don’t realize it but it is cheaper to recycle,” Blythe said. “We save more by recycling than just throwing it away.”

The center has been successful in keeping Columbus Air Force Base ecofriendly. The center has an approximate trash conversion rate of 59 percent. The center was recently recognized for their hard work with two awards, the Mississippi Recycling Hero Award and the Keep Mississippi Beautiful Award.

One of the center’s goals is to work to help future generations have adequate space for all their waste needs. Landfills only have a limited amount of space and without recycling they would fill up even quicker.

“We are going to run out of room in the landfills,” Blythe said. “We need room for our kids to place their trash.”