From The Trinidad Chronicle News: Terra Firma Recycling, located at 201 W. Indiana Ave. in Trinidad, was looking for a way to bring recycling services to some of the smaller communities in Las Animas County, and the Tercio Foundation stepped up to the plate with a $4,500 donation so Terra Firma could buy the four big recycling bins and place them in rural areas.

Steve Block / The Chronicle-News

Donation funds from Tercio Foundation support local recycling effort

Terra Firma Recycling is a not for profit 501(c) 3 rural recycling facility, where recycling participants can voluntarily recycle plastic in numbers one through seven, paper / chipboard, cardboard, and household metals free of charge Mondays through Fridays from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. and Saturday from 8 a.m. until noon. The Stonewall Colorado satellite drop-off location is now open to recyclers. The recycling bin is located at the Stonewall Fire Protection District Station located at 7375 Highway 12, and is an effort sponsored by the Tercio Foundation, the local affiliate of Louis Bacon’s Moore Charitable Foundation, and the Stonewall Fire Protection District.

Kelli Van Matre, manager of Terra Firma Recycling, talked about the importance of getting donations to spur recycling efforts during a Wednesday interview.

“The plan is to install recycling bins throughout the rural areas of the county that we will maintain and collect from,” Van Matre said. “This is with the assistance of the Tercio Foundation, because without them this wouldn’t have bee possible. We’ll have four new bins and have two placed along Highway 12, one in Aguilar and one in Hoehne.”

She said that Terra Firma is still working to build its infrastructure so it could place more recycling bins in the Trinidad area.

“Right now our focus is to reach out to the people in the rural areas and assist as far as we can in providing services to the rural community,” she said. “We’re thankful for the people who do participate in recycling in the city of Trinidad, as well as the outlying communities. They are a huge reason that we are able to keep the program going. Without the help and dedication of our recyclers we couldn’t keep on going forward, because they make recycling a part of their daily lives.”

The recycling effort wouldn’t work without the help of local partners such Lil’ Stinker Septic, which helps retrieve the recycled materials out of the bins, and J & K Delivery, which also picks up recycled material. Van Matre thanked everyone who was involved in the recycling effort.

“Working together, we can make it happen.”