The Art of Recycling

(a cardboard pallet that’s been flattened, bound and ready for shipping)

Connie was introduced to recycling at a young age. Both of her parents recycled as well as her grandmother. “My grandmother never wasted anything. A shirt would wear out and she’d take the buttons off; she’d make he shirt into a rag” recounting her family’s legacy of recycling. Connie carries on that spirit by appreciating nature and doing her part of preserving the Earth’s integrity. “I would never throw away a leaf because it could be part of my garden. I look for ways to reuse everything” Connie states. She is also a gracious tour guide who welcomed me into the Oxford Recycling Center on a warm fall afternoon to get an inside look at the facility. 

 

“Whether or not we like it, plastic is here. We could stop making plastic today but we’d still have to do something with the plastic’s that’s here.”

 

Tell me about yourself and your background:

I’m an educator and a retired schoolteacher. For 25 years, I worked at North Mississippi Regional Center helping individuals with developmental disabilities. I taught them about recycling but I also helped them with daily living activities such as dressing themselves. Now I work at Oxford Recycling part time at the facility but also helping to educate the public and schools. 

Can you talk about the operational aspect of the recycling center?

We are the recycling branch for the city of Oxford. We get all the residential recycling (with the exception of glass). Our metals are sold to Pea Ridge Recycling down the road. As far as actual facility operations, individuals with developmental disabilities are the ones doing the sorting by hand—all of our recycling is done by hand. 

Let’s talk about what materials are accepted at the facility and what isn’t. A lot of people aren’t educated on what’s recyclable.

We accept plastics, metals and cardboard. In addition, the city of Oxford also picks up rubbish. So there’s a recycling pick up day and a rubbish and waste pick up. 

What exactly is rubbish? 

Rubbish is things like couches and appliances. For instance, if someone passes away and has to get their homes cleaned out there might be a lot of rubbish. Things like estates and moving out tend to see a lot of rubbish. 

What other services does the facility offer?

So Oxford Recycling is under the Environmental Services Department. We are responsible for garbage pick up as well as lawn maintenance along the highways as and cemeteries. Additionally, we are partnered with a program called Terracycle. It’s essentially a corporate recycling program that allows certain materials to be recycled such as toiletry packaging or certain plastics that may only be useful to a grocery store for example. So that grocery tore will pay for those materials to be recycled and shipped back to them. 

 

Connie’s Top 5
Fav Snack: Ice Cream specifically Private Selection chocolate chip
Fav musician/band: Brazilian musician Daniel Bonaventura; I discovered him on Facebook.
Fav TV show or movie: Ted Lasso because I just love his positive attitude
Fav place in Oxford: Oxford University United Methodist Church (OUUMC)
Fav hobby or past time: Gardening, birding and anything in nature