Columns

In my first column for the Cedar Key Beacon I wrote that I fell in love with this island within 15 minutes of arriving here last year on a birthday trip. I know you're supposed to be happy when you're on vacation. But, it was more than a vacation glow. The longer I stayed-and the more often I returned-the more I felt as if I had come home.

That statement seems crazy because I was born and raised in New York City. But, what I was experiencing was a very different kind of homecoming. It was a return to the heart.

What would you find if you examined a typical landfill? Plastic packaging, diapers, old furniture, carpets, shoes, paper, food waste and computers. The list goes on and on. Billions of dollars’ worth of material assets were used to make most of these products.

As we all know, transitions are never easy and that holds
true for Cedar Key’s efforts towards a more sustainable
future. But let’s look at some numbers that might give us
some encouragement:
Now that we know that our community efforts have nearly
doubled our recycling, let’s look at how we got there,
problems that ensued and solutions that help us address these
problems.
EDUCATION
Community informational meetings were held the last