Mayor advises municipal employees, offices to recycle
By Angela Greiner Community Reporter

PHOTO/ANGELA GREINER Peggy Ayers, chair of the Recycling Committee in Marlborough.

Marlborough - To promote recycling, Mayor Nancy Stevens has instructed employees in municipal buildings to recycle all materials banned from the waste stream. Volunteer Peggy Ayers, who chairs the city's Recycling Committee, said that the move provides an opportunity for the city to serve as a role model for the community.

With the major push focused on paper, Ayers's office, located in the Walker Building, has become the home of both recycling advice and recyclable materials rescued from the offices' trash bins, including boxes and paper.

"If you can rip it, you can recycle it," Ayers said, with the exception of pizza boxes.

As a lifelong recycler, Ayers remembers her excitement about the first Earth Day celebration in 1970. She encourages other members of the community who might have not recycled in the past to try it; not only is it an easy way to make a real diff erence in the community, but it is the right thing to do both for the environment and the city's finances.

The Mass. Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), according to Ayers, estimates that citizens and businesses throw away 1.5 million tons of paper each year, which costs the taxpayers of Massachusetts an estimated $100 million per year for disposal. By recycling, the state saves that money.

The growing concerns about diminishing resources and climate change has motivated both citizen-run groups and local political leaders to appeal to the public to become a more conscious green community. Ayers, armed with statistics and facts about the growing problems in waste management, was optimistic that more people are now recycling.

The Massachusetts state economy has actually profited by the recycling movement, she explained, through the creation of "green-collar jobs." These jobs include nearly 20,000 recycling industry positions with a combined annual payroll of $557 million.

"I am excited that the mayor has adopted this policy," Ayers said. "Leading by example has proved to be a successful catalyst in motivating the rest of the community to follow suit."

The city of Marlborough currently off ers two ways for residents to recycle: curbside or at the residential drop-off facility located at 856 Boston Post Road East.

The city accepts products made of metal, plastic, glass, paper and cardboard, along with yard waste. There are some stipulations about how to properly recycle, which include separating paper and rinsing containers.

For more information about recycling, visit the city's website at www.marlborough-ma. gov.

"A little eff ort can make a big difference … Recycling just two bags of paper a week," Ayers said, "keeps eight trees in the forest, saves 100 gallons of fuel, and keeps four tons of carbon dioxide out of the air each year."