Rebecca Markey has been selected as Chelmsford’s Recycling Champion for February 2010. The Markeys moved to town in 1983, and they witnessed the start of our current curbside recycling system about 20 years ago. Like many residents over the years, they have helped to save the town substantial funds by reducing, reusing, and recycling what would otherwise cost us money to dispose as trash. A Chelmsford Recycling Rebecca is active in protecting our environment and serves on the Chelmsford Community Preservation Committee, the Open Space & Recreation Committee, and Director on the Chelmsford Land Conservation Trust. She grew up as a nature lover in Florida and it’s obvious that she still enjoys nature around her home, which borders wetlands and an unnamed tributary of the Merrimack River. She has worked for Federal, State and Town parks, the Merrimack River Watershed Council, as well as leading recreation and conservation programs, and has a B.S. in environmental studies. She encourages land owners to leave a dead tree to decompose naturally without endangering people or property; these then will be “recycled” into homes and food by birds and insects in a carbon-neutral way that does not involve trucks, chain-saws, or grinders. Rebecca also makes compost from her garden and kitchen wastes, recycling these nutrients back into her home plantings. Aside from composting, how do recycling and conservation overlap? The more plastic, glass, metal, and paper that is recycled, the fewer natural resources have to be extracted or cut down, and the less energy is needed to make products. Also, the less trash we put out in Chelmsford, the cleaner our air will be since our wastes are burned and that results in air emissions. Some types of trash are particularly hazardous to burn, such as mercury (used in fluorescent lights, electronic switches, or thermometers) and cadmium (used in rechargeable batteries). Remember to check the Chelmsford Recycles for collections of these wastes that are banned from trash. Rebecca keeps a bin for recyclables handy under a kitchen cupboard and empties this into a barrel outside as needed. Paper products are segregated into paper grocery bags (plastic bags aren’t accepted by our hauler) as required by the town’s current “dual-stream” pickup method, with other recyclables mingled. Reducing and reusing are also important for trash reduction…not only saving the item that might be trashed, but eliminating all the packaging that would come with a new one. Rebecca donates used goods to her church, the West Chelmsford United Methodist, which holds a rummage sale annually in October. The rummage sale has garnered some renown for the quality of goods, with folks even attending from outside the state. Rebecca has also given new life to some lightly-used items she picked up at this event, and has helped get recycling started at her church. She encourages folks to buy recycled products and items that are packaged with recycled material. The CRC is pleased to recognize Rebecca Markey as our Recycling Champion for February 2010, 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 her efforts we have provided Rebecca a gift certificate donated by Fishbones Restaurant. Do You Know 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 Marc Grant, Chelmsford Recycling Committee |
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Committee (CRC) volunteer visited the Markey household to see how they do it. We found that this family is exceptional at trash reduction, with three adults typically putting out just one-half barrel of trash each week. Compare that to about 2 barrels and 4 bins of recycling every two weeks, and you can see that their recycling rate is upwards of 75%!