Brooksby	UPDATED: Thursday, October 30, 2008
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Recycling efforts reenergize

Posted on Thursday, October 30, 2008

By Setarreh Massihzadegan
THE ERICKSON TRIBUNE

When it comes to green living, the people at Brooksby mean business. Instead of wondering whether their recycling efforts were up to speed, members of the community’s Energy and Conservation Committee took it upon themselves to head to the place where it all happens.

Six people who live or work at Brooksby took a tour of the Peabody-based JRM Hauling and Recycling’s facility in Malden, Mass., and they learned exactly where their waste goes and why they are doing a satisfactory job recycling in their community.

Smooth operation
Brooksby’s waste, with the exception of medical trash, goes to JRM, eastern New England’s largest independently owned waste management and recycling company, where it is collected, separated, and sent off to be processed and reused.

“I thought it was quite an experience and quite an operation,” says Walter Ross, chair of the Energy and Conservation Committee and a member of Brooksby’s Resident Advisory Council. As a former safety engineer, Ross took note of the facility’s system of operation and says it was “excellent.”

Ross made sure to speak with Peter Gamache, manager of JRM’s Malden facility, about whether Brooksby’s staff and residents were sufficiently doing their part to recycle. Those who live at Brooksby are responsible for sorting their waste and separating paper from commingles (glass, plastic, and aluminum) to recycle. Residents put out their recycling once a week and trash up to three days a week.

After the trip to JRM, Ross wrote in the group’smeeting minutes, “[Brooksby] is doing a satisfactory job in its preparation of waste for shipping to JRM.”

Between February and June of this year, Brooksby consistently increased the number of tons of commingles and paper it recycled. This June, the month for which the most recent data was available, Brooksby sent more than 11 tons of paper to JRM’s facility, compared with about 6 tons in February. It also sent more than 4 tons of commingles, compared with 1.65 tons in February.

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In regards to those who live at Brooksby, Ross says, “99% are very conscious about their recycling.”

Staff members like Lisa Watkins, an operations associate at Brooksby and a recycling spokesperson in the community, have upped recycling efforts in their offices and the restaurant kitchens at Brooksby.

“Everybody here is pretty supportive of the green trend, and they’re open to suggestions,” says Watkins, who is also part of the Energy and Conservation Committee.

Multiple efforts
Since the Energy and Conservation Committee formed in 2005, the group has met each month to ensure that the community is operating in an energyefficient way.

In addition to waste management, the committee has been discussing Brooksby’s efforts to install light sensors in the community’s common areas, which will cause lights that previously stayed on to switch off when no one is around. By changing the lights, particularly in the walkways between Brooksby’s clubhouses, the community will eventually save money and energy.

“The thing the company does well is lessons learned,” says Arthur Trenoweth, senior facilities manager at Brooksby and a member of the Energy and Conservation Committee. The challenge of being the most energy- and cost-efficient, he adds, is always keeping up with changing technology.