Alisha Raby Cefalo, left, and Justin Sirois, right, talk as Maleek Byrd and Ranfy Chavez look for plastics that shouldn’t be in the containers on Allen Ave in Lynn. Item Photo by Owen O’Rourke
By Jessie Nocella
LYNN — Recycling enthusiasts want residents to go green.
Alisha Raby Cefalo, the Department of Public Works recycling outreach team supervisor, led the seven-member crew of environmentalists to educate residents on better ways to dispose of trash.
“Our mission was to raise the recycling rate of Lynn so we can do better stuff with our money than spend it on burning trash,” she said.
The city launched a six-week social marketing campaign to boost recycling to at least 50 percent of the trash they produce. Last month, the recycling team recorded more than 1,000 resident’s trash and recycling carts. The team then spent a month knocking on those same doors to teach city dwellers on proper recycling techniques and getting their pledge to better dispose of trash. For example, recycling methods should not include plastic bags, styrofoam, wood and food.
The team received 155 pledges in five weeks from participants who implemented the new methods of disposal.
Julia Greene, DPW’s recycling coordinator, said there was much more community participation than prior attempts.
“Last year, we knocked on everyone’s doors, this year we focused on residents who could learn from us,” she said.
The team found that trying to educate residents was a challenge. Greene said that’s due to the fact that people simply don’t like change.
But the team’s outreach had an impact. In just a few months, Lynn has gone to a 20 percent recycling rate, up from 7 percent.
Still, the city has a long way to go. The statewide average for recycling is 37 percent, according to the most recent data from the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection.
Justin Sirois, 21, an outreach team member, reminisced about seven hour days in blistering heat, knocking on doors without receiving one pledge. People don’t want to see where the trash goes, they just want it to be gone, he said.
For Sirois, recycling is personal. He noticed that his constant efforts to go green had an impact on his grandparents habits and even the way they dispose of trash at work.
“I think when people know you personally and they know that you’re doing it all the time, they become more interested and want to make you proud,” he said.
Much of so-called improper recycling in Lynn is random, according to team member Ranfy Chavez, 19.
“There are some areas where the street is perfectly fine,” he said. “Then the next street is just a complete disaster.”
Many residents reject the pledge to recycle properly because they feel it doesn’t impact them directly, Greene said. What most people don’t realize is that recycling is connected to our environment, she added.
“Once you can get a percentage of people on the street to do the right thing, then it’ll flip and everyone will be doing the right thing,” she said.
