Scout Installs Recycling Bins Downtown

When you notice the eight shiny new recycling bins that line Main Street as of this week, you can thank Alex Hance.

The 16-year-old prospective Eagle Scout spent the last few months and about 100 hours of his time researching, fundraising and working to realize his goal of providing can and bottle recycling along Main Street.

The cans were installed Monday afternoon, stretching from Deborah Ann's down to the Chez Leonard hot dog stand—slightly smaller black iron cans with green lids sitting proudly next to each of the stretch's existing all-black trash cans. It was important to the town that the recycling cans match the existing cans and not be an eyesore on the picturesque street.

Hance had about eight other scouts of all ages helping him with the project on Monday. One of the requirements of the project, which will qualify him for Eagle Scout status in the winter after he undergoes a review meeting, was that Hance exhibit leadership qualities and the ability to delegate responsibility to others.

Hance said that he had expected the fundraising to be the most challenging aspect of his project; he needed about $4,000 for the eight cans. But because the project got some media attention early on, donors stepped forward quickly. 

Passers-by will notice plaques on most of the cans, thanking a donor for the $500 it took to purchase each one. Ridgefield Action Committee for the Environment donated a bin. Georgetown Auto Body donated one as well as painting the cans and allowing them to be stored at their shop. Ridgefielders Bob and Gerri Lewis donated one, Hudson Baylor Corporation donated three and the Tenney Family donated two bins to Hance's cause.

Hance conceived the idea after mulling over the mission of the scouting projects.

"They told us to look for a need in your town and fill it," he explained. He'd been involved in a recycling initiative in middle school.

Though interested in the environment, the Ridgefield High School junior plans to study business or science at college, preferably on the west coast or in Florida.

There are three or four scouts in Hance's troop that hope to be promoted to Eagle Scouts this year.

If you happen to be on Main Street today, stop by and get a recycling sticker from Hance and thank him for his hard work. He'll be talking with people on the street all afternoon about the project.