"Call it a stroke of genius, a no-brainer, or a match made in heaven and hell.

It's all of the above.

ABC Recycling Center recently opened in Whiteclay, Neb. to recycle brass, copper and aluminum - lots of aluminum.

Whiteclay is nationally famous for annually selling 4.5 million cans of beer to their neighbors on the Pine Ridge Indian reservation, where alcohol is banned. That averages out to 12,500 cans per day, with nearly half of them being tossed to the ground.

It only makes sense to generate some profit from the beer cans while tackling the town's litter problem.

"You drive through town, you see how many beer cans are lying around," said George Dreamer, who opened the small recycling center on Nov. 15 with laudable financial help from ABOUT, a Whiteclay Christian ministry, and Lakota Funds, a nonprofit organization in Kyle that supports Native businesses. A grant from Northwest Community Partnership of Chadron, Neb. funded the purchase of two can crushers and a scale.

Business has been picking up, literally, bringing in about 500 pounds of cans and other aluminum items in its first two weeks of operation."

Get the Story:
Editorial: Whiteclay makes a dent in litter (The Rapid City Journal 12/8)

Related Stories:
Nebraska governor disclaims responsibility over Whiteclay liquor (8/17)
Group uses state money to start Whiteclay cleanup effort (4/13)
Kevin Abourezk: Panel discusses alcohol sales in Whiteclay (4/8)
Nebraska lawmakers reduce allocation for Whiteclay fund (3/30)
Oglala Sioux Tribe set to build nursing home by Whiteclay (3/29)
Wasted in Whiteclay: Town tells 4.1M cans of beer a year (3/24)
Oglala Sioux Tribe planning for nursing home in Nebraska (3/23)
Kevin Abourezk: Panel focuses on problems at Whiteclay (3/15)
Column: Doing something about the Whiteclay situation (3/12)
Column: Lawmaker offers to sue Whiteclay stores (2/19)
Whiteclay bill headed for floor debate in Nebraska (2/18)
Oglala Sioux Tribe supports detox center in Whiteclay (2/4)
Column: Whiteclay in the news just for being Whiteclay (2/2)
Kevin Abourezk: The search for solutions at Whiteclay (2/1)
Lawsuit planned over sale of liquor at Whiteclay stores (1/15)