Salem Recycling Committee Meeting
Tuesday, February 3, 2008
Attendees: Mark George ,Katie Giddings, Lynn Murray
Penny Neal, Jennifer Percy, Julie Rose, Liz Vago, and Susan Yochelson
Book Swap
The meeting started off with a discussion of the upcoming Book Swap. Flyers were passed around which announced the details of the swap:
Location: St. Peters Church Rectory Hall (across from Cinema Salem)
What can be dropped off: Books, CDs, videos, DVDs
When: Friday night 5-6:30 pm or Saturday Morning right before the swap
Time: Swap will be held from 9:00 – noon on Saturday, February 28, 2009
All leftover materials will be picked up by GotBooks.com The truck is scheduled to arrive at noon.
The books will be divided up into fiction, non-fiction and childrens’ books for ease of selection. There will be notices in the media ahead of time and a jpg of the flyer will be sent out so that it may be forwarded to the various neighborhood associations, civic groups etc
Penny Neal will work on a bookmark to give out for this event that will promote recycling in Salem. Lynn Murray will visit Derby and Cornerstone bookstores to pick up their bookmarks. Jennifer Percy will contact some of the folks who have volunteered to help out at Recycling Committee events.
Contract Implementation
The next discussion focused on issues related to the implementation of the new contract. There has been a lot of confusion and complaints from property owners over the size of allowable barrels. Foremost is the question as to what a 45 gallon barrel looks like in regard to barrels of allowable size. A suggestion was made to have pictures posted to the Salem Recycling web site that would feature an individual standing next to different size of barrels, identified by size. Mark George volunteered to have his picture taken with an assortment of barrels when he went out on the next collection.
It was noted that there have been a number of unfavorable articles in the media as well as many critical comments on the local blogs, e.g. Salemweb.com As is often the case, those that have a negative experience or a complaint are usually more vocal than those who are happy with a change. Mark reported that he has come across some folks who previously resisted recycling but once required to do so are delighted with the outcome. A decision was made to focus on the positive and thank those who have now embraced recycling. Penny Neal offered to come up with notepaper with the recycling logo that will be used as thank you notes from the recycling committee. It was also suggested that an article be placed in the paper that talked about the new contract and solicit some interesting stories
about recycling.
As there are now many 45 gallon containers that can no longer be used as trash barrels in Salem, Susan Yochelson offered to come up with an article about using these barrels for composting or rain collection. The Salem Gazette continues to be very welcoming in regard to articles about recycling and the environment.
The next meeting will be held on Tuesday, March 3rd at 7:00 pm.
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