By Brittany Titus
Round Table editor

  The Great Frederick Fair has been recycling for many years. It wasn’t until 2006 that the fair staff decided to make an even bigger change.

 Office Assistant Robert Fogle of Walkersville said that 56,000 pounds of cardboard, 22,780 bottles and cans and 756,000 pounds of livestock bedding were recycled last year.

 Since 2006, the number of trash has been reduced by 26 percent since recycling started.

 “We have been recycling for many years; we recycle composting manure, bedding, straw…,” said Jim Allen of Jefferson. “We recycle so we don’t have to use much fertilizer.”

 The fair’s carnival has switched to LED light bulbs for most rides which conserves energy and lowers the cost of the electricity bill.

 The food at the fair has also gone eco-friendly, using vegetable oil and using cardboard supplies, which are recyclable.

 JB’s Seafood of Middletown uses recyclable products. Cups, crab meat containers, and supplies that come in cardboard are all recyclable. All the oil that is used is recyclable as well.

 “Both me and my wife are big proponents of doing recycling and recycling plastic at home, so we try to enforce it at The Great Frederick Fair, as well. Due to the economy and the way everybody just throws trash away, we want to try and recycle as much as we possible can,” said Chuck Staley, owner of JB’s.

 The Great Frederick Fair has been part of the community for 148 years, and is now becoming a more eco-friendly event. Families at the fair can expect more in the future, in order to preserve the environment.