Celebrating America Recycles Day with Laura Feitner Calarco
This November 15 marks the 26th annual America Recycles Day, dedicated to promoting sustainable recycling practices in both individual households and across major industries. In recognition of this annual observance, we spoke to Laura Feitner Calarco, P.E. — a water resources engineer at H2M with experience in solid waste and sustainable materials management — about her career in solid waste and what the future holds for the practice of recycling.
A fourth-generation engineer, Laura was interested in both engineering and solid waste management from an early age.
“As a child, one of my weekly chores was sorting through recyclables, back when rebates were offered directly to residents. I’d go to the local landfill with my father to drop it off, and he’d let me keep whatever money we made,” Laura said. “After college, having seen manufacturing leave the United States, I knew I wanted to work in an industry that would always be managed domestically. That led me to solid waste management as a career.”
Laura’s first job in solid waste was as an Engineering Aide for the Town of Smithtown in Suffolk County, NY, where she supported the municipality’s solid waste and stormwater management programs. Her public sector engineering experience also includes roles with the Town of Babylon and the Suffolk County Department of Public Works. With her extensive experience in the industry, Laura has been no stranger to both the benefits and challenges of recycling.
“As domestic manufacturing has gradually returned to the middle of the country, there became a stronger financial incentive to use recycled materials. However, recycling can sometimes be expensive for municipalities, particularly in regions like Long Island that are too far away from the closest markets to supply materials in a cost-effective manner.”
The challenge of getting these materials to willing buyers, however, has inspired the public and private sectors alike to bring these markets closer to the heart of Long Island while simultaneously spearheading new uses for recycled materials. Economic development initiatives can be tailored to attract manufacturers with an interest in recycled materials, significantly reducing the financial burden of transporting these materials.
Likewise, facilities such as waste-to-energy plants, which convert solid waste into usable electricity for the grid, can support a circular economy that keeps the recycled products in the community. Other innovative recycling strategies for promoting a circular economy include transforming used plastic bags into municipal park benches, folding finely-ground glass into cement building products, and incorporating glass particles into soil to improve its structure and speed up plant development.
For individuals, one of the biggest barriers to recycling is confusion about how to properly do it. Smart transfer stations are a recent innovation that takes the guesswork out of recycling by automatically separating and categorizing recyclables from the waste stream. Not only does this promote more widespread recycling practices, but it also can cost less in the long term than having materials sorted by hand.
“Every day, we’re learning about new and more efficient ways to recycle materials that may not have even been recyclable a decade ago. Municipalities should consult with specialists in the development of solid waste planning and recycling programs that emphasize material reuse and identify the appropriate technologies and markets to make it feasible.”
To learn more about H2M’s commitment to supporting sustainable solid waste management, visit our Solid Waste service page.