New Initiative Aimed At Turning Cheshire Green

February 18, 2009 by Josh Morgan

Just like Kermit the Frog says, it’s not easy being green, but the Town is hoping that a new initiative will help reduce what’s being deposited into the waste bin.
Town Manager Michael Milone has said a sustainability initiative is needed around Cheshire’s buildings that will encourage employees to recycle more cans and bottles, but as Milone explained, there are other things that can be done to benefit the environment.
“We are trying to be more environmentally conscious,” Milone explained. “Just simply recycling is not the be all and end all.”
For starters, Milone said, the Town “consumes mass quantities of paper” and although it’s recycled, “it doesn’t mean we are doing our part.” He said that documents are printed and subsequently lost and printed again, even though they can be viewed on a computer. A goal is to have all pertinent information on the Town’s computer network so employees can access the information without requesting a printed copy.
“We are trying to reduce our paper consumption by 10 percent,” Milone explained. “It’s good for the environment and it’ll save us money.”
Environmental Planner Suzanne Simone said there is “a lot that goes into the production of paper,” so any reduction in consumption will help the environment.
“The less paper we use, the better off the environment will be,” Simone explained. “We want to encourage more electronic communications.”
The Town’s boards and commissions have an insatiable appetite for paper, with countless documents being copied for each meeting. Milone said he is going to try and email those documents to board members and commissioners, and will give them access to files if they need to view the documents online. Also, Milone said Town staff “has to get into the habit” of making double sided copies.
The Town has already rolled out some “green” practices over the years, from hybrid vehicles to bio-fuels for trucks. Milone agreed these practices are good, but more is still needed.
“We were doing a lot of little things, but we wanted to integrate and rationalize this approach,” Milone said. “We need to raise awareness around here and the hope is that it spills over into the household.”
Simone said recycling is “all well and good,” but believed there was a “misunderstanding” about what happens to bottles and cans after they are deposited into a blue recycling bin.
“The belief is everything has an afterlife and that’s not always the case,” Simone said. “We constantly consume bottles and put them into the recycling stream and they might not ever be used again.”
While recycling is certainly better than simply throwing a bottle into the trash, Simone encouraged people to utilize reusable containers, like stainless steel bottles.
The Town has even hired a new cleaning company for its buildings and they will be using “green products” Milone explained, which is just another small piece of the larger “green” puzzle.
“We are trying to get away from products that are harmful to people or the environment,” Milone said. “We need to pull all of this together.”
Simone hoped the initiative would catch on, and believed this was the first step in the right direction for all town employees. As time moves on, new “green” ways of thinking will be incorporated, Simone revealed.
“We will be updating this information continually with new ideas and new procedures,” Simone explained. “This is just an introduction to get employees used to the idea of thinking differently about the items they use and how they use them.”