Recently, the girls of Troop 303 explored the city dump. Before going, we made a list of
what we thought it would be like. “Smelly,” “dirty,” “scary,” and “dangerous” were among the
many preconceived ideas the girls had.
We arrived in the morning and were surprised by what we actually saw. First, the manager
and her assistant greeted us at the gate and escorted us into the office. Many girls
commented on the lack of smell. The manager laughed and said that there is a “garbage”
odor, but with proper ventilation and landfill techniques, odor can be controlled.
The girls also found the city dump was almost a small city in itself. Paved streets led to
landfills, aluminum, glass, metal, and plastic recycling centers, and mulching operations. The
manager explained that the city made money on all of these services, but especially on the
mulch -- as residents can come and buy some for their home or garden.
Next, she showed them how closed, or filled, landfill pits were being turned into a new city
park complete with a toboggan run and dirt bike course. All of this created from trash!
Troop 303 now has a new outlook on what can be done with garbage.