Taj Khan saw her mother recycling in their home
in India when she was growing up. When Taj moved to the USA with her husband, she wanted to follow her mother’s example and recycle in her new country, where she was pleased to learn that many more types of materials are collected for recycling.
Besides recycling at her own home, she has since encouraged tenants to recycle in the apartment buildings she owns in Columbia Heights and Fridley.
She contacted the City of Columbia Heights Public Works Department and got information and bins for her tenants. She posted information in the hallways and laundry room and asked tenants to please read it. She placed recycling bins in the laundry room and even offered to transfer recyclables herself to the outside cart. “I want to make it easy for tenants to recycle,” she said. “But I was not pushy.”
She’s now proud to say that all tenants in her six-unit building in Columbia Heights are recycling. Her building caretaker is especially supportive and helps carry out collected recycling materials. Most tenants take out their own recyclables. In fact, they’re recycling so much that Taj requested a third big, green recycling cart with a red top for the building.
Why recycle? It helps limit pollution and it’s good to know that you can do something to make the world a better place, says Taj. Recycling also saves tax dollars since it reduces the garbage that the city sends to costly landfills. “It’s an easy way to do a good deed,” she adds.
Owners/managers of multi-dwellings are encouraged to call the City’s Public Works Department at (763) 706-3700 or email publicworks@columbiaheightsmn.gov to order additional recycling containers (for no additional cost) and request tenant recycling kits