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Woodcrest Villa Residents
Reach Notable Milestone:
Donating Two Tons of Styrofoam® for Recycling
On November 4, Woodcrest Villa residents celebrated a rather unusual milestone - collecting 10,000 pounds (five tons) of polystyrene for recycling. From 2003 to present day, residents collected, packed and delivered clean used dinnerware and packing material to the polystyrene recycling plant at Dart Container Corporation in Leola. During a special ceremony, Nan Rush, Vice President of Residential Living, and J. Nelson Kling, President of Mennonite Home Communities presented Beth with the Woodcrest Villa Treasured Volunteer Award for her efforts. Jerry Rousseau, Recycling Coordinator for Dart Corporation, also presented Beth and Woodcrest Villa with a plaque signifying their ongoing hard work.
The whole endeavor got its start nearly 8 years ago, when residents Connie McMullin and Beth Rogers spearheaded the effort. Beth had previously recycled Styrofoam when she lived in New York. When she moved to Woodcrest Villa, she connected with Connie and shared her commitment to recycling and her desire to start such an effort again.
Connie supported Beth's idea and encouraged her to propose the concept to Resident Council, which supported the idea. Connie and Beth then set up collection and storage points throughout the community.
The first delivery to Dart was 12 lbs. Shipments increased steadily over the eight years and now average 50 pounds every three weeks, culminating with the current total of 10,000 pounds. Beth has tracked all of the deliveries and Connie has delivered everything to Dart.
In addition to Connie and Beth, more than 20 residents have volunteered to help pack the storeroom boxes and served for the most part over the full eight years. Many more residents have also participated by donating their polystyrene for recycling, helping to keep it out of the waste stream.
In the past, Woodcrest Villa had taken interested residents on a tour to Dart Container to see what the recycling process entails. First it is loaded into a hopper and then fed to crushers. The disks of crushed polystyrene enter a grinder where they are turned to powder. The powder is melted into a liquid which is then expelled into cold water bath and comes out as plastic beads or droplets. This is bagged, boxed, and shipped to various manufacturers of hard polystyrene items.
The Styrofoam recycling project is just one of the many ways in which Woodcrest Villa residents give back to the larger community. Through their Going Green Initiative, residents also participate by conserving electricity, reducing paper usage and being mindful of their use and recycling of other resources.
Connie McMullin, front left, and Beth Rogers hold Styrofoam items, while Dart Container's Jerry Rousseau, back left, holds items made from recycled Styrofoam like picture frames and clipboards. Nelson Kling, Woodcrest Villa Retirement Community CEO, is also pictured. (Justin David Graybill / Staff)
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