Recycling: At The Village at Penn State, proper recycling is about education, team effort

Learning is a lifelong process. I saw this firsthand when I was invited to The Village at Penn State Retirement Community to talk to the resident recycling educator and “Recycling Buddy” Joan Bouchard.

Joan, along with Jim Tate, chairman of the Village Recycling Committee, have made it a point to educate residents on recycling right.

As I sat with Joan in her apartment at The Village, she took me through the process of how she reaches every newcomer to talk about how recycling is done in their community. Joan and Jim are very proud of The Village recycling program, as it just won an Emerald Award as part of the Centre County Green Business Partnership Program.

Joan does not want to overwhelm new residents, so she waits about a month until they are settled in. She then gives each a call to ask if she may come to speak to them about how to recycle at The Village. Joan is met with open arms as the older generation is very aware and eager to do their small part to save energy and help slow the fill of our landfills. Many have lived through the Great Depression and do not like to waste. They put a definite value on items as only one could who have lived through such a trying time.

To help simplify the recycling process at The Village, Joan takes her “Recycling Buddy Case” along to each visit. This is a customized suitcase (constructed by Tate) that includes samples of each material that can be recycled at The Village. Joan opens up the case and shows each new resident, items that may be recycled onsite and where the recycling containers are located.

Joan is eager to answer any questions during her visit. There is an endless supply of questions and each resident has one different than the next. Joan knows that if she is unsure of the answer, I am always there to lend a helping hand, and we are in contact many times a month.

In addition to the many items are collected onsite by the recycling crew, The Village has special containers for items such as miscellaneous plastic and plastic bags that must be recycled off site. This is the job of 84-year-old Jerry Gross, who has taken it upon himself to collect these items and help Joan to make sure they are recycled. It is a team effort at The Village.

The commitment to recycling at The Village at Penn State is commendable — the words I am limited to in my recycling column can only scratch the surface of the stories I can tell. I did take wonderful pictures of Joan and the “Recycling Buddy Case” that will be included in our upcoming fall newsletter.

I’d like to end with wise words from Joan, “Instead of worrying about what I can’t control, I do what I can, here and now to help preserve this precious planet we live on.” I hope we can all learn from Joan, Jim, Jerry and the older generation that has so graciously paved the way for all of us.

As always, thank you for recycling!