Rogers says hes proud of PRIDE results during Corbin visit

U.S. Rep Hal Rogers (R-Somerset) spoke in Corbin yesterday about the PRIDE cleanup program he helped create.

Since its inception in 1997, the Eastern Kentucky PRIDE (Personal Responsibility In a Desirable Environment) Program has resulted in more than one million old tires being recycled along with 200,000 old appliances. More than 700,000 bags of trash have been collected, and more than 3,000 illegal trash dumps have been eliminated.

U.S. Rep. Harold "Hal" Rogers, R-KY, was in Corbin Tuesday to recognize local government officials and organizations for their efforts in bringing the dream of PRIDE closer to reality.

"No one has taken more pride in their region, in their home, than you," Rogers told more than 150 people who gathered at Whayne Supply for the annual awards ceremony and workshop.

There was a time you could drive down the road and think, ‘We should do something about this, but what can one person do?’ Now, we have a program that is admired from coast to coast,"

Rogers said the reason for PRIDE’s success is that more and more people are willing to give up some of their free time to come out for the annual cleanup events.

Though he didn’t think it possible, he noted PRIDE events continue to turn out increasing numbers of people. In 2010, when more than 31,000 people came out to the various PRIDE events, Rogers said he was certain the program had set a record that would not be beat.

PRIDE organizers began a campaign, "Get Five for PRIDE," encouraging people to bring five friends to a PRIDE event.

"When they told me they were going to beat 31,000 people, I said they were crazy," Rogers remarked.

The final totals showed 33,100 people came out for PRIDE events in 2011.

Rogers recognized the local communities for their efforts to increase the number of volunteers including Corbin and Knox and Whitley counties, each of which met the target of increasing the number by at least 5 percent.

"PRIDE volunteers have worked hard to educate our community members about the value of putting trash in its proper place and the importance of recycling," Rogers said. "All the hard work is paying off and we invite more people to join PRIDE again this fall."

As part of the event, PRIDE officials worked to inform local officials of the opportunities to expand their recycling efforts.

Tom Heil with the Kentucky Division of Waste Management explained that in addition to being the right thing to do, municipal recycling programs can be financially beneficial to local government.

Heil noted that only 22 percent of the approximately 5 million tons of municipal solid waste in the United States is recycled. If all of that were recycled, it is estimated it could generate an additional $15 to $25 million in revenue.

He added that the Kentucky Division of Waste Management is eager to help any local government officials who want to start or expand their recycling efforts.

Corbin Mayor Willard McBurney, who attended the event, said he would be interested in looking at ways to expand Corbin’s recycling efforts.

While he noted that curbside recycling would require substantial upfront money, he would be open to expanding the current recycling operation.

"We would be willing to look at a recycling partnership with Whitley County similar to what London has with Laurel County and Manchester has with Clay County," McBurney said.