Ian Wallace has been selected as Chelmsford’s Recycling Champion for July 2009. Ian has lived in Chelmsford with his wife since June 2008. Until the birth of their daughter about six months ago, Ian’s household sometimes did not put trash out at all on trash day, and even now they put out only one barrel that is usually about 1/3 full. Ian recycles all of his marked plastic containers, glass bottles and jars and aluminum and metal cans. In fact, while his trash barrel is minimally used, his recycling bins have been overflowing.
Ian is interested in composting and, after his interview, he took home a pamphlet on home composting. He uses a mulching mower to shred leaves, which he leaves on his lawn as a natural fertilizer. He’s been collecting brush and branches—including a lot that came down during the December ice storm—and will rent a chipper to make his own mulch. In addition to doing a great job reducing the amount of trash he and his family generate, Ian has taken action to get off of catalog and junk mail lists; he recycles plastic grocery bags at the grocery store; and he reuses paper and plastic bags. Ian also looks for creative ways to use items he no longer needs for their original purpose. For example, he plans to reuse screens left over from a window replacement project as weed barriers, and to make birdhouses from reused wood with shingles made from recycled aluminum cans. He and his family try to live a simple life that does not involve accumulating large amounts of stuff, and they donate items to Goodwill every year. Ian also had an idea on how Chelmsford’s environmental programs could be better: see if the entire town can be an “opt in” community for phone books. This would mean that only those residents who request phone books would have them delivered. Ian pointed out that new phone books are showing up at his home with increasing frequency at a time when fewer people than ever before are using them, relying instead on the internet. Ian said he always recycles the unwanted phone books with his other paper, but noted that their production and transportation wastes a lot of resources and energy. A little research following the interview revealed that there’s a great deal of legislative activity on this issue around the country. For now, you can opt out of receiving yellow pages at www.yellowpagesgoesgreen.org. The CRC is pleased to recognize Ian Wallace as our Recycling Champion for July 2009, and we hope every resident can make similar efforts to reduce, reuse, and recycle. All our efforts together will save the town money and improve the environment! In appreciation for Ian’s efforts, we have provided him a gift certificate donated by Fishbones restaurant. Do you ynow a Recycling Champion? The CRC is accepting nominations for Recycling Champions and will interview nominees to evaluate their skills. Each month the CRC will publish a new Champion's recycling story and tips. To nominate please send the name, address, and a few words about your nominee's recycling prowess to: recyclingchampion@comcast.net. Article written by Jennifer Almeida, Chelmsford Recycling/SW Coordinator |
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Prior to moving to Chelmsford, Ian traveled while in the service, and lived most recently in Boston where he got to experience “single stream” recycling. In a single stream program, residents put all of their recyclables—paper and containers—in one bin. The recyclables are collected all together and then sorted out at the recycling facility. Now that he lives in Chelmsford where we have “dual stream” recycling, Ian and his family separate their paper and cardboard from their bottles and cans and place them at the curb for collection every two weeks. His system is simple but effective: two buckets under the sink—one for trash, the other for all of his recyclables. When Ian takes the recyclables to the garage, he separates out the paper and cardboard from the containers. This is an excellent way to recycle if you have minimal space to devote to recycling.