Recycling big on the Ridge

With a large population of seniors who tend to be set in their ways, Paradise may not seem to be a hotbed for recycling. Au contraire! According to Jennifer Arbuckle of Northern Recycling and Waste Services, Ridge residents with curbside recycling have a 58-percent diversion rate, “higher than any other city in the county.”

That’s not all: Paradise was the site of a zero-waste event that came within a hair of its goal. Blues and Brews, held by the Exchange Club Oct. 4 at Paradise Community Park, kept .85 tons of its .87-ton waste from going to the landfill thanks to the use of compostable plates and utensils as well as recyclable cups.

The Exchange Club might have been able to reach 100-percent diversion, Arbuckle said, if not for Styrofoam bowls handed out by participants in a chili cookoff.