A ton of aluminum and nearly a ton of plastics were collected and recycled during Nebraskaland Days, thanks to a special effort.

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Nebraskaland Days organizers wanted to go green this year and called on the Keep North Platte Lincoln County Beautiful organization to help.

Yellow-lidded bins, provided by the city, were placed around the arena. Volunteer groups like the Bandits 12 and under softball teams, the Cans for Critters organization and the 14 and under Velocity Girls Softball group volunteered to sort and bag materials in the recycle bins throughout the nights.

Together they collected, sorted and bagged more than 2,000 pounds of aluminum and nearly as much plastics, KNLBC spokeswoman Holly Carlini said recently.

That garnered more than $1,000 for the organizations, and kept the materials out of the landfills. It can take 80–200 years to break down an aluminum can in a landfill, Carlini said.

“This is an important partnership which helps get the entire community involved in recycling, and sustains the environment for future generations,” KNLBC Executive Director Mona Anderson said.

Anderson urges people to be aware of the yellow-lidded bins during next year’s Nebraskaland Days concerts and rodeos, and put cans and plastics in their place. Recycling saves energy, prevents pollution, and decreases greenhouse gases.