Westhill named top recycler in the city

by Jackie Schechter
Managing Editor

Each of the single-stream Toters, the large grey and blue recycle bins, lining Stamford’s streets can hold up to 224 pounds. Since July 2009, Westhill has filled over 206 of these carts with recyclables, amounting to over 46,000 pounds of waste, which will be reused to make new products.

With these numbers, it comes as no surprise that Westhill currently recycles more material than any other public building in Stamford. Between December 16, 2009 and February 3, 2010, Westhill filled 161 Toters, while in the same time amount of time, the Government Center, the second top recycler for that time period, used only 115 carts.

Junior Michelle Greenman, co-president of Environmental Heroes, was ecstatic when she learned of Westhill’s “green” accomplishment. “I was absolutely thrilled when I found out!” she said. “It’s been difficult getting the recycling program started but it’s great to see that all the hard work [that] we’ve put in has paid off.”

The Environmental Heroes club ensures that every classroom has a blue recycling bin and that the department offices have a large single-stream Toter. Environmental Heroes club members, Ms. Esformes’ environmental science classes, and special education students are all responsible for emptying the blue bins into the Toter, which are then collected by the school custodians.

According to science teacher and Environmental Heroes advisor Dr. Lisy, “The real push and implementation of the recycling program at Westhill was due to [former seniors and last year’s co-presidents] Hilary Ego and Angela Finn’s efforts…[Juniors] Michelle Greenman and Brittney Daniel, the current co-presidents, have carried on the legacy left by them.”

This success has even gone as far as to inspire Westhill students to actively take part in recycling. “I recycle whenever I can, so I think it’s really good that Westhill is taking [the] initiative to improve our environment,” said junior Anna Stathopoulos.

Although the Environmental Heroes began Westhill’s recycling program, they admit that they could not have continued this undertaking alone. They credit the custodial staff, club members, science teacher Ms. Esformes and her environmental science classes, special education Ms. Nestor and her students, the freshman class, and Principal Ms. Figluizzi for providing invaluable help and support.

Ms. Figluizzi said the announcement of Westhill’s recycling success made her “very proud, because [Westhill is] a pretty large building making a very large difference.”

Dan Colleluori, Supervisor of Stamford’s Solid Waste/Recycling Division, is also impressed with Westhill’s efforts. “Since last year, when I started working with Hillary and Angela, Westhill has always been one of our best recyclers,” he said. He added that “the custodians are very cognizant of [recycling and that] they do a great job of it.”

Due to the efforts of Dr. Lisy and the Environmental Heroes, Westhill now also has a recycling dumpster on loan from Mr. Colleluori. This dumpster can hold larger recyclables, such as packing materials, and any excess recycling that will not fit in a Toter.

While the addition of a dumpster is yet another step toward “going green” at Westhill, the work does not end there. “Everything but food can be recycled, so a lot more stuff can still be recycled,” Greenman said.

Mr. Colleluori agrees. On Wednesday, February 10, Mr. Colleluori met with the Board of Education to discuss ways to address the relatively low recycling rates in Stamford schools. At the meeting, both parties agreed that Sodexo, the food provider for the Stamford Public Schools, needs to be involved in improving recycling in the schools. Additionally, each school was given a goal of how many Toters that they should be recycling each week.

However, Lisy noted one of the positives about the recycling trend at Westhill. “I think it is amazing to see everyone coming together to work towards this noble goal,” he said.