Letters to the Editor

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Honor Earth Day: Restore Full Recycling in Cibola

Dear editor,

Recycle Cibola! presented a petition to restore recycling in Cibola County at the Coffee with the Managers meeting on April 7th, asking them to submit it to elected officials for Cibola, Grants, and Milan.

Over 370 residents have signed this petition: “WE, THE UNDERSIGNED, PETITION OUR LOCAL GOVERNMENT AGENCIES TO RETURN FULL RECYCLING TO CÍBOLA COUNTY.”

Recycling began in Cibola in 2010.

In 2011, federal funding was awarded to establish a regional program within Cibola and McKinley Counties. To obtain funding, Grants, Milan, Cibola County, and the Northwest New Mexico Regional Solid Waste Authority (SWA) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), agreeing to recycle corrugated cardboard, mixed paper, aluminum, tin, and plastics in the region. The SWA agreed to serve as a hub and provide processing services. Grants, Milan, and Cibola agreed to staff recycling centers; SWA agreed to staff transfer and convenience locations.

About 2 years ago, the SWA suspended recycling due to Covid. In 2020, it resumed recycling of all materials except mixed paper in Gallup. Nearly 1 year after that, it resumed recycling of cardboard only, in Grants and Milan.

Recycle Cibola! believes that the SWA’s different treatment of the Cibola and McKinley recycling programs is wholly unjustified.

First, all parties agreed to establish and operate a regional recycling program to collect multiple materials, not just cardboard.

Second, while regional program income and costs have varied over the past 11 years, until 2020, the full recycling program continued. Income and cost variations happen. Fuel prices rose several years ago. They came down. They will likely yoyo again. The appropriate response is to weather the storm, not to curtail Cibola’s recycling, while continuing in Gallup.

Third, it would not cost much more to collect and process all of the listed recyclables than it would to collect and process only cardboard. That is because so much of the cost is to employ the recycling attendant.

Fourth, the same buyers of materials from Gallup’s recycling are ready to purchase Cibola’s materials. With appropriate coordination, SWA can and should arrange sales for the entire region.

In short, we respectfully ask our elected officials and the SWA to do the right thing: please honor Earth Day (on April 22nd) by restoring Cibola’s full recycling program.

Hollis Fleischer,

Co-Coordinator,

Recycle Cibola!

To sign the petition, visit our table at the Farmers’ Market, starting in May.

Gun Crime and Bonds

Dear editor,

More gun crime again, do we need to make more gun laws and bans, or put more criminals away for life? The most recent shooting in California where five gang members used a fully automatic pistol needs to be released, California DA opposed early release of Sacramento mass shooting suspect: 'We need to stop the chaos' (msn.com). China shipping in gun parts to the United States, CBP seizes over 52,000 gun parts from China at California port - ABC News (go.com). Now why would China ship these kinds of things into the US. My guess, good money for them, very cheap to build, cheap labor, and it allows criminals to kill more citizen’s without going to war with us. They don’t have to worry about guns in China because they are not allowed, and if you did this in China pretty sure you would get executed quick no worries about bail or bond there! On the home front we are still talking about banning the high-capacity magazines and the dreaded assault type semi auto rifles. While we are trying to ship weapons to Ukraine as fast as we can along with some cool switch blade drones that blow stuff up. Pretty sure the average law-abiding citizen in the US is not allowed one of those, and even if you made one and got caught you could still bond out right? I do these letter in hopes some people that read them will start some serious critical thinking about how our government and the media are running things and telling us how to think. We need a change soon; I implore you to get out and vote. Send a message to Santa Fe & Washington this June, vote them OUT!

Mr. Harry L. Hall.