In recognition of Earth Day, Unalaskans gathered at the Qawalangin Tribe of Unalaska’s office Tuesday to learn about the island’s only recycling program.
The Qawalangin Tribe of Unalaska started the recycling program about two years ago, sending certain plastics and other materials to recycling centers in Washington State and repurposing glass containers for local use.
At the recent presentation, Shanoy Anderson, environmental director for the tribe, walked community members through a powerpoint presentation about recycling, from “bin to beyond.”
“Recycling is the process of gathering and processing materials to create new products,” she said.
The tribe started their recycling program in 2024, collecting glass, No. 1 plastic, aluminum and cardboard. Most of the recyclables get shipped out in containers to the Tacoma area, through a partnership with the barge company Matson. But glass is heavy and takes up too much space. So rather than see it go to waste, the tribe recycles it in-house.
John Gustafson, the tribe’s recycling and facilities manager, sorts the glass and runs the crusher machine. He processes glass bottles into material used for sandbags and winter road traction for the island.
“I got to take off all the plastic and the metal off the bottles,” Gustafson said. “That takes up most of the time.”
When sorting glass, Gustafson has one hard rule: bottles with food residue don’t make the cut. Food residue in recycling can contaminate entire batches of material and cause costly damage to equipment.
“Spaghetti sauce, alfredo and stuff like that. People don’t think to rinse it first,” he said.
As of now, the tribe has about 6,000 pounds of crushed glass stored — roughly two years’ worth. But Gustafson said there’s room to grow in the future.
“It’s just me and [I] can only handle so much at a time,” he said. “But eventually we want to upgrade all of our equipment and everything, and we’ll spread the news to the whole community. We’ll be even busier.”
Anderson said the tribe hopes to have the new equipment ready within the year, and potentially recycle the glass into other materials for art, construction and landscaping. Once it’s up and running, she said the tribe plans to collect recyclable glass throughout the Aleutian region.
“Our goal is to be a hub for the region,” Anderson said.
For now, community members can drop off recyclables at the Qawalangin Tribe’s office. You can find more information on what materials the tribe accepts on its website.
