It’s Important—

Resident Promotes Recycling, Reuse

By Kendra Bobowick

Who: Sustainable Energy Commission member Kathleen Quinn is part of Newtown’s Clean Energy Task Force that will become a sustainable energy commission as members are appointed by the new first selectman.

  

What is Important to her: Everyday ways of being green.

Reusable water bottles, reusable shopping bags, energy-efficient light bulbs, and a favorite travel mug for her coffee. Resident Kathleen Quinn uses them all. “They’re household things that are simple, but have a big impact,” she said. Referring to the thin canvas sacks she for groceries, she said, “They live in the car and wherever I go, they go.”

A travel mug can replace the Styrofoam or cardboard disposable cups used at coffee shops or sold for the home in grocery stores. The bags eliminate the need for plastic at every grocery trip. Reusable water bottles reduce the amount of empty bottled water containers that require disposal every day, week, year. Energy-efficient light bulbs are another bright, and green, idea.

“A little thought ahead of time makes a lot of sense,” said Ms Quinn. Thinking again of her reusable shopping bags, she said, “They have paid for themselves.” Aside from the growing number of people using the bags, she said, “Water bottles are another thing, especially now.” A reusable water bottle is a one-time purchase, she explained. “They’re easy, it saves you money, and it’s healthy.”

Why take the reusable route? “I’ve always been interested in doing something for the environment,” she said, but worries, “We’ve got to do more than we have been doing.” She added, “I was recycling way before it was mandatory; I thought it was the right thing to do.” What’s in her garbage bin?  “I try to make sure that whatever lands in the trash is really trash.” Even old clothes could acquire another use. “They go to Goodwill,” she suggested. Furniture could also find a new owner, she said. Recycling and reuse “is a frame of mind. Someone could always use something, just find another ‘life’ for it,” she suggests.

Considering Newtown and beyond, Ms Quinn said, “We’re all in it together.” A recycler “for years,” she believes that the reusable bags, bottles, and efficient household items are catching on. Referring to her shopping bag, she said, “Sometimes at the store someone gives you the eye — like it’s a good thing to do.” Before the reusable shopping bags, Ms Quinn sometimes “wound up with plastic. I would use them as trash bags, so they eventually would end up in the landfill and not in someone’s yard. They’re an environmental nightmare.”

Visit GoGreenNewtown.com for more information on Newtown’s green efforts, and how each resident can participate.

(The Bee series It’s Important includes a brief interview and video revealing — one person, one idea at a time — what is important to you. Be a part of It’s Important. Contact Kendra at 426-3141 or reach her at Kendra@thebee.com. Go to NewtownBee.com to see It’s Important.) See the related video at NewtownBee.com.