Rethinking Recycling

Rethinking trash and recycling was the theme of the second Wisdom of Woodbridge lecture.

Rob Klee, Commissioner of the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, gave his talk and engaged in a conversation with audience members at the JCC in mid November as part of the First Selectman’s lecture series designed to invite Woodbridge residents to discuss their exciting professions, unusual talents and expertise in various topics.

“In Woodbridge we are lucky to have so many big thinkers,” said First Selectman Ellen Scalettar. “I hope that this series will allow us all to share the wisdom of Woodbridge.”

Klee discussed the state’s current trash and recycling strategies and the success of recent recycling initiatives, including the addition of recycling paint. In its first year, Klee told the audience, the program collected 240,798 gallons of paint across the state. The oil-based paint was sent for fuel blending and burned for energy recovery while the latex paint was recycled back into marketable paint.

Klee also discussed internal conversations happening in his office on how to improve recycling rates statewide.

Klee shared his belief that “recycling is a shared responsibility and requires citizen engagement.”

Klee’s office will soon examine how much recyclable material is in our trash and how much trash ends up contaminating recycling. He’s also exploring policies that shift the recycling responsibility to the manufacturer.

At the first lecture, held at the Woodbridge Town Library, Southern Connecticut State University President Dr. Mary Papazian discussed “Embracing the Future: Southern Connecticut State University and the Changing Higher Education Landscape.”

Future lectures include a Jan. 19 talk by Nancy Yao Maasbach, Director/President of the Museum of the Chinese in America about “Chinatowns, China’s Towns, and Chinese Towns: An Evolving Sense of Community” and on March 22 a talk by Yaron Baitch, Co-founder and CEO of AuthAir entitled “Hacked! Keeping your Identify Safe in the Information Age.”

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