As of March 2008, Pingry students, faculty, and staff at the Martinsville Campus are recycling. Senior Wyatt Komarin and the Pingry Green Group led the efforts to start the program, with considerable input from Director of Facilities Michael Virzi.
Komarin announced the program at an all-school assembly. “We felt the only way to begin the recycling program was if it were formally introduced to the school. I gave some facts and figures about recycling in America, and then discussed our program,” Komarin said. Blue bins are located throughout the building for paper, glass, plastic, cans, and waste. There also are new trash compactors to accommodate waste and paper; glass, plastic, and bottles are sent to a separate facility.
“The goal is not just to recycle,” Virzi said. “We had been in an arrangement where our trash was picked up every day—two trucks were on the road coming here to pick up. With the compactors, we’re hoping to have pick-ups every 15 or 20 days. It’s a significant decrease in fossil fuels, emissions, and vehicles on the road.”
The recycling program’s origins can be traced to the spring of 2006, when Mark Biedron ’70, founder of The Willow School in Gladstone, visited Pingry to talk about his school’s environmental activities. Inspired by Biedron’s efforts, students and faculty founded the Green Group in the fall of 2006 to bring environmental awareness and activism to Pingry. There are about 80 members under the guidance of Fine Arts teacher Peter Delman. As chair of the Steering Committee, Delman works with five faculty members and seven students to oversee the group’s projects and consider long-term planning. The students are Olivia Delia (VI), Matt Ford (V), Kelsey Hiscano (VI), Wyatt Komarin (VI), Audrey Li (V), Sam Mackoff (V), and Cassie Osterman (V).
“The goal is to deal with problems and make the system 100 percent successful,” Delman said about Pingry’s new recycling program. The Green Group also publishes a newsletter, “Green News,” with updates about their initiatives.
© 2008 The Pingry School
