Submitted by Kristin Battistoni, Haddam Tax Collector.
Thank you to all the residents of Haddam for your participation in our community project to recycle plastic bags. Through our partnership with TREX we have been able to remove 4373.90 pounds of plastic that would have gone to our landfill.
We began collecting plastic bags last November with a goal of collecting 500 pounds every six months. Needless to say we smashed that goal. As a thank you, TREX has supplied the town with a TREX bench for each collection period. One has been placed outside the Firehouse and the other is on RT 81 by the center.
Here is a recap of the life cycle for recycled plastic bags in Haddam. We have several drop-off locations around town. The Town Office Building, Transfer Station, Nutmeg Pharmacy, River Provisions and the Brainerd Library have agreed to be locations for collection. The bags are weighed and stored, usually at the Town Office Building, until someone takes them to a distribution center. These distribution centers are located at select Stop and Shop, Big Y, Kohl’s, Price Chopper, Whole Foods and Target. Melissa Oddo, a Haddam resident, put together this list which contains all the stores that accept material along with contact information. The complete list can be found on our website under the sustainability page.
In town, we are required to show the State that we are making progress in reducing our bulky waste, and Municipal Solid Waste annually. One of the ways we are accomplishing this is by recycling over two ton of plastic bags. Plastic bags cannot be put into the regular single stream recycling. This program allows us to find a way to recycle this material and reduce our bulky waste.
This program was set up as a community based project. Other than the Transfer Station employees storing bags, the town crew is not involved. We are looking for volunteers constantly. When the shed behind the Town Office Building is full, we have to wait to receive any more donations or back up from the Transfer Station. If you are headed to one of these stores, please stop by the shed and grab a few bags of plastic on your way.
If we can all pitch a little, the whole town and planet will benefit.
If you have any questions or would like to volunteer, please contact Kristin Battistoni at 860-345-8531 X 207 or taxcollect@haddam.org.
Photo of Trex bench by Chris Corsa.
