To the Dump! I mean Recovery Center..

The Field trip Lee County's Integrated Resource Recovery Center was very interesting! We learned that they received the award for #1 recycling county in the State of Florida. They also create energy power using their recycling center. It was really neat!

The Steps for a Better Future

We were also able to take a look at where the garbage trucks drop off their trash and how a giant crawl moves trash to the back and another then takes it away! The smell was horrible I felt like I still smelled weird once we left that area.

It smelled so bad!

This was the giant crawl it was so impressive!

This is a picture of our protective wear that we had to have on during our visit.

We also learned about this safety system they have. They use locks for reach employee, they must return that lock before they go home, or else them have to come back and lock it up.

 

 

Meredith:

 

I found the field trip to the Recovery Center to be a very eye-opening experience.  It was great to learn from Tom that the only drawback associated with opening the center was its expense.  It was neat to take a tour to see how the entire operation was set up.  We reviewed the process of the center collecting trash and then transform the waste into compost, recyclables, and energy.  There is a main control room that an employee named Bob ran to ensure that the operations ran smoothly in the building.  He watches cameras throughout the day to make sure all of the control rooms are working properly and that the other workers are following the correct procedures.  The center is also very focused on safety by making sure employees are responsible for their actions at work and return their lock at the end of their shift each day.  This field trip was a great one to end the class with because it displayed that committed people can begin to direct the environment to a more sustainable and positive future.