Fort Bliss honors their ‘Recycling Hero’ on Veterans Day

FORT BLISS, Texas -- Fort Bliss kicked off the annual Keep America Beautiful, America Recycles Day celebration on Veterans Day. The aim of the celebration was to honor the 38 individuals who are both soldiers and civilians in their efforts to maintain a green base.

Sergeant First Class George Johnson was named this year's Recycling Hero. Johnson saw a need to implement a recycling program for his squad earlier in the year; he helped set up a training seminar to improve their recycling efficiency.

"We're originally from Atlanta, Georgia and South Carolina -- so when we leave El Paso, we can teach our kids our family and our other soldiers how to make America beautiful not only in El Paso but South Carolina and Georgia," Johnson said.

Fort Bliss committed to a greener base back in 2012 when they announced the launch of the military's largest renewable energy project. Back then Fort Bliss worked with El Paso Electric to build a solar farm to help reduce energy consumption.

Today the base is striving to become Net Zero Waste by the year 2020 due in part to their recycling program. This program is also funded in part by the Morale, Welfare and Recreation program. By doing so they are able to turn recyclable material into commodities for the community.

This year Fort Bliss is on schedule to reopen a spray park due in part to proceeds they have raised through their Recycling Heroes program. The base has also paid for park improvements, and new weights for their weight room through the same program.