ELIZABETH McADAM, Recycling Specialist
How long have you been working at this job?
Since April 2006.
What got you interested in recycling?
I’ve always been interested in environmental sciences. In third grade, I bought a book from our school book fair titled, 50 Simple Things Kids Can Do to Save the Planet. It really helped me understand the need to conserve our resources and have respect for the earth. After all, if we treat our environment badly by striping it’s resources and polluting it with toxins, we are only destroying ourselves because we depend on our environment for our own survival.
What exactly do you do?
I work for the Recycling Program, which is part of the St. Louis Refuse Division. The Refuse Division collects trash and recyclables from St. Louis residents and transports them to the proper facility. The trash is transported to a transfer station and then taken to a landfill, where it is lost forever. The recyclables are taken to a Materials Recovery Facility where they are sorted, bailed, and sent to a manufacturer to be made into something new. It is the Recycling Program’s job to increase the amount of waste that is being recycled and reduce the amount of waste that is being landfilled. We do this by educating residents about what sort of recycling opportunities are available to them. We educate by giving presentations to k-12 students, youth groups, and at neighborhood meetings; exhibiting at special events (such as festivals); and maintaining an extensive website.
Are you hired by the government or is it a private corporation?
The St. Louis Refuse Division is a St. Louis City government agency.
Have you had past experience in the recycling business?
Before working here I had no experience working in the recycling business.
Are there a lot of other people involved with recycling around St. Louis?
There are thousands of people involved with recycling around St. Louis. A study conducted by the University of Missouri for the St. Louis-Jefferson Solid Waste Management District found that almost 16,000 people are employed by 1,500 recycling businesses in the St. Louis Metropolitan Area.
Do you think that recycling is a success in St. Louis?
I believe that St. Louis has come a long way with recycling and has been involved with some very innovative projects. Each year recycling is increasing and we are definitely moving in the right direction. All recycling programs around the country have room for improvement, and St. Louis is no different. As far as I know, there is not a city in the U.S. that has achieved Zero Waste. To become a city with Zero Waste would be the ultimate success.
Do you get paid to do this job, or do you volunteer?
I work for the Refuse Division, so I do get paid.
What is the most interesting thing that you do for your job?
The greatest part of my job is that I get to be creative and do something different everyday. One day I might be responding to emails that people send asking about recycling, the next day I might be creating a display board to present at a special event, and the next day I might be in a room full of 8th graders teaching them about the importance of recycling. But the most interesting thing I’ve done so far is to help conduct a waste audit. We had to dig through bags of trash and separate everything that could and could not be recycled. We weighed everything to figure out what percentage of the waste was aluminum, what percentage was glass, plastic, steel, paper, cardboard, food, liquid, etc. It was definitely a dirty job, but I’d have to say it was also the most interesting.
What is the most boring thing that you do for your job?
Nothing I do is REALLY boring, but I will say my least favorite thing to do is data entry. It can be very monotonous, but I take it seriously and make sure I enter everything correctly. And, even though it can be boring, when I’m done I can create really cool graphs and charts that are very helpful when it comes to decision-making time.
Do you travel with your job?
I get to travel around the St. Louis area, so I’m not in an office all day every day.
Do you enjoy your job?
I enjoy my job very much.
Does the city of St. Louis use one program or do all of the individual cities within the St. Louis region use different programs?
St. Louis City is not part of St. Louis County, so all of the cities within St. Louis County are assisted by programs in St. Louis County. The Refuse Division provides service to only St. Louis City.
|
