According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, over the last fifty years, the per person average of solid waste generated each day in the United States increased from 2.7 lbs. to 4.4 pounds. In Franklin County, Kentucky, we send an average of over 7,000 tons annually to the landfill.  The county currently maintains a 22% landfill diversion rate, or the amount of the total waste stream that is recycled or composted rather than landfilled, with a goal of reaching 50% in the coming years. While the county has waste management systems in place for diverting much of this waste, educating residents about the importance of waste reduction, management, and diversion is a key component to reaching that goal.

To address this goal, in 2017, the Kentucky State University Sustainability Extension program partnered with Franklin County Solid Waste to develop and pilot the Commonwealth’s first ever Master Recycler course, only the third of its kind in the country. The community class, based on the implementation and feedback of three pilot courses in 2016, consisted of 6 evening sessions focusing on topics including: the solid waste stream, composting, source reduction of waste, recycling economics, and community education for success. Community participants toured the county landfill, recycling center, and livestock compost site as part of their work and learned along the way about individual impacts on solid waste and the environment.

There were 11 total participants from Franklin County enrolled in the first round of the course who each received over 15 hours of solid waste training in the classroom, as well as three field trips. Five new community and regional partnerships were formed through the field trips, guest speaking, and follow-up projects conducted by participants.

Upon completing the classroom portion of the course, participants proceeded to implement over 50 hours of community outreach (valued at $25/hour per the national volunteer rate), to over 2,000 Franklin County residents. Community service projects included placing new recycle bins and educational materials at individual places of work; staffing recycling booths at county fairs and other events; creating and hosting displays at community events about what can and can’t be recycled in central Kentucky; presenting solid waste stream information at various Frankfort neighborhood association meetings, and more.  

The course will continue for a second round in the fall of 2018 and all 20 registration slots have been filled for the next cycle. Participants will now receive a complete and published Franklin County Master Recycler curriculum guide that will be shared statewide across Kentucky in 2019. Kentucky State University is grateful for our partnership with Franklin County Solid Waste and looks forward to growing this program in the future.