For 34 years, the Mercer Island Recycle Center has served as a shining example of Mercer Islanders’ commitment to the environment. Who could have imagined that a wild idea hatched by a small group of Mercer Island High School students in the early 1970s would have such a significant and enduring effect on our community? Their audaciously named Committee to Save the Earth (CSE), led by their longtime advisor Harry Leavitt, spent more than three years raising money for the new center. When opening day finally arrived, no one was sure what to expect. Only a few permanent collection sites existed in the Puget Sound region. But on the first day of business, Sept. 15, 1975, Mercer Islanders lined up with glass bottles, newspapers and cardboard boxes in hand, and they have been doing so ever since.

Over the years, the Recycle Center has efficiently kept millions of pounds of paper, plastic and other reusable materials out of our landfills and public spaces. It has also contributed hundreds of thousands of dollars to our local schools. But its true contribution cannot just be measured in pounds or cents. The center has contributed greatly to the development of environmentalism on Mercer Island. Active recycling gives all of us an opportunity to take personal responsibility for our own consumption. My guess is that citizens who actively recycle also have a tendency to drive less, practice sustainable gardening techniques, turn down their thermostats to save energy and know their carbon footprint.

Many high school students who have volunteered at the center have gone on to work in environment-related career fields. And you can bet that most have passed on their environmental sensibilities to their children. It is no accident that our local recycling rate (which exceeds 60 percent) and our Island forest coverage rate are both among the highest in the region.

There are a few particularly notable events that stand out in the history of the center and its CSE sponsors. In 1985, the CSE sponsored a citywide Toxic Safety Survey to raise awareness about hazardous waste on the Island.

In 1989, the CSE spearheaded an effort get a referendum on the ballot to ban the use of plastic foam containers in retail establishments on the Island. The activists collected more than 2,500 hundred signatures and gained the support and recognition of the City Council. In a 1991 initiative reminiscent of an ongoing city/IslandVision-sponsored program (visit www.mercergov.org for more information), CSE members distributed hundred of tree seedlings to local residents. Also, during most years, the center has been a model of nonprofit win-win volunteerism. It required little or no government subsidies while also providing funds for local educational programs … even after curbside recycling was adopted in 1989.

Lauding the long-standing contributions of the center to the Island, an August 1997 Mercer Island Reporter editorial noted that “the recycling center has been a place that fosters the stewardship of the earth and concern for the environment … long before recycling became a trend, and even after curbside recycling began, the recycling center has been a model of community-based effort.”

Happy 34th birthday to all of the hundreds of volunteers and thousands of patrons who have made this enduring Mercer Island institution a success.

Now, a new generation of Committee to Save the Earth students is asking for our help to keep active recycling alive and well on the Island. They deserve our thanks and support.

Islander Dr. Jonathan Harrington writes to honor the Mercer Island Recycle Center staff and volunteers.