Recycling doesn’t seem to be a big priority in Eastern Oregon, and that’s just wrong.

Take the city of Pendleton, for example. It doesn’t have an effective curbside recycling program and the city shows the effects of it. Trash in the yards of homes. Trash in alleys and on the streets. Trash in the river and floodplain.

In not too many months, the city will be celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Pendleton Round-Up and it would be a real step forward if there were recycling bins all over the Round-Up Grounds and throughout the city. It would show the visitors how much we in Eastern Oregon love our land.

There is no good reason why the city shouldn’t recycle.

Our Washington neighbors to the north in Walla Walla have curbside recycling, provided by Basin Disposal Inc. It provides the containers and once a week pickup. La Grande also has a well-publicized curbside service that coincides with garbage day.

Although Pendleton Sanitary Service will pick up newspapers, aluminum and used motor oil left at the curb on collection days, few residents take advantage of this service – it’s not well-publicized, and without distinctive collection containers, it’s a hassle. Some residents take their recyclables to one of two Pendleton Sanitary Service sites, where they must sort it themselves, but that simply is not as effective or as efficient as a curbside service. And, they do not accept many types of plastic containers or bags.

In a related issue, it’s disappointing that Sen. Mark Hass, D-Beaverton, was forced to drop his effort to ban plastic bags in the state. Those plastic bags, you see, end up blowing across our wide open spaces or wind up in a landfill.

Plastic simply does not biodegrade completely, instead breaking into smaller and smaller pieces. In fact, every bit of plastic that has ever been created still exists, except for a small amount that has been incinerated (releasing toxic chemicals into the air, but that’s a rant for another time).

A prime example of those smaller pieces of plastic is the Great Garbage Patch, or the Pacific Gyre. It contains millions of tons of trash, floating between Hawaii and California. It is twice the size of Texas – that’s right, twice – and doubles in size every decade. It was discovered 12 years ago and is one of five in the world’s oceans. Made up of plastic – toys, toothbrushes, bottles, wrappers and bags – the floating garbage dump is an environmental disaster.

That’s where recycling comes in. It takes most of the plastics, cardboard and other reusable materials and converts them back into bottles and containers for reuse.

Back to our own backyard … it’s time our city and the Round-Up Association make a positive gesture toward the environment of Eastern Oregon that we love. Let’s begin recycling now. Our kids and grandkids will thank us for it.

Unsigned editorials are the opinion of the East Oregonian editorial board, comprised of Associate Publisher Kathryn Brown, General Manager Wendy DalPez, Managing Editor Skip Nichols, News Editor Daniel Wattenburger and Senior Reporter Dean Brickey. EO Publishing Co. Board Chairman Mike Forrester and former EO Editor George Murdock also contribute editorial content. Other columns, letters and cartoons on this page express the opinions of the authors and not necessarily that of the East Oregonian.