Winter 2009
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Courtesy USAG Yongsan

Col. Dave Hall, commander of U.S. Army Garrison Yongsan, emphasizes recycling as a way to support quality-of-life programs.

When it comes to talking trash, Col. Dave Hall, commander of U.S. Army Garrison Yongsan, Republic of Korea, is without equal.

But what he is talking about is the community's new Integrated Solid Waste Management Program.

"At Yongsan, we have a good record of turning our trash into cash," Hall said. "In fact, we are leaders in selling our recyclable material."

With an intentional push to make the garrison greener, more energy conscious and even profitable, officials are turning to innovative solutions. By separating food trash from potentially recyclable materials, residents can increase revenue for the garrison and help the environment.

For years, U.S. Army Garrison Yongsan has made a significant amount of money from recycling. A Korean contractor picks up trash from across Yongsan Garrison and takes it to a sorting site at the sewage treatment plant. Workers sift through tons of garbage and separate kitchen waste from cardboard, plastic and glass.

This process generates revenue for the garrison, but officials believe even more trash could be recycled with a public education program.

"With very little effort, our residents can be more environmentally friendly and at the same time invest cash from trash back into the community," Hall said. "We are not trying to burden anybody with unreasonable requests."

Garrison officials signed the Army Family Covenant Dec. 17, 2007. "And this ties directly into the covenant we made to the community," Hall said. "We are committed to providing our Families a strong, supportive environment where they can thrive – that is straight from the promise we made."

The benefits of the recycling program include working together to solve problems and deliver a quality of life Yongsan community members deserve, Hall said.

"We estimate that a 25 percent increase in recyclables would net an annual increase of more than $60,000 for the garrison," said Calvin Cobbs, Plant Operations Branch chief.

Cobbs said the garrison expects to earn more than $120,000 in financial return this calendar year from the recycling program.

"That is $10,000 a month from trash," Cobbs said. "If we separate kitchen waste from recyclables, that income will increase even more."

Cobbs initiated the plan to increase public awareness of the dual opportunity for environmental stewardship and community support.

Earlier this year, Cobbs submitted his proposal to the USAG Yongsan Executive Quality Council under the garrison's innovative "Just Do It" Ninja program. The program empowers employees to seek out cost savings and avoidance and increase efficiency.

Hall jumped at the chance to help the environment and earn more money for the Garrison.

"This program is a no-brainer," he said. "Look, all we're asking is that you don't contaminate recyclable material with food garbage. You don't need to use special bags, just segregate the biodegradable food stuffs from the cardboard, glass and plastic."

A contractor will continue to separate each category of recyclable material at the trash collection point.

"We're going to go full court press with a public information campaign to get community members familiar with what is recyclable," Hall said. "You can start helping out immediately. Just put that food trash in a plastic bag and tie it off."

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