Members of Loveland Garden Club were given the opportunity in April to visit the massive First Star recycling center in Omaha.  An in depth tour included everything from where the recyclable items are dumped, to the conveyer belts that do the initial sorting, and the bales of sorted items ready to be shipped where they will be made into new products.  We were most amazed by the new “orange bag” program, where previously un-recyclable plastics (such as straws, baggies and styrofoam) are turned into energy through the use of energy recovery technologies.