Reduce! Re-use! Recycle, Reclaim! That’s Amy Farnum’s Mantra

We had the opportunity to catch up with Amy Farnum who has a very interesting job in state service. Amy is responsible for managing the state’s recycling program. If you work in the greater Concord area, chances are you’ve seen Amy hauling vast quantities of paper and cardboard from state offices to White Farm.

The state’s recycling program was legislated and first implemented in 2008. Title I, Chapter 9-C; Section 9-C:1 states “State government has an obligation to put into practice, as part of its own operations, the interdependent principles of waste reduction, recycling, and recycled products purchase. State agencies shall strive to maximize the application of these principles in their normal operations. This chapter shall apply to all state agencies, as defined in RSA 9-C:2, V, whether or not they are required to make purchases through the division of plant and property management.”

 Through this legislation, a non-lapsing fund was created and is known as the State Recycling Fund. The fund supports the recycling process, which falls under the Dept. of Administrative Services. Basically, all state departments are required to:

(a) Minimize the amount of solid and hazardous waste that it generates.

(b) Recycle any generated waste materials for which markets are readily available, with particular attention to waste materials that are not biodegradable.

(c) Purchase materials, supplies, and products that have the highest content of recycled materials and which are recyclable and non-toxic, to the extent feasible, acceptable, and appropriate.

III. All agency employees shall comply with this policy and participate in any initiatives within their respective agencies to implement the policy.

Amy came on the scene in 2016 as the first recycling coordinator. She began by conducting a detailed cost analysis, which included outlining the costs associated with the program and funds that could be derived from the sale of the state’s recyclables, such as paper, cardboard and scrap metal. Through funds from a Green Grant, Amy was able to cover the start-up costs of moving some material away from vendor processing (expense) towards internal bale and sale (revenue) for two existing state-controlled recycling pickup programs. Step one was to get a paper baler up and running, which was not an easy feat. The machine required an electrical system that was three-phase. There were no buildings that currently had that system. Instead, arrangements were made to install the electric system and baler at White Farm, home of State Surplus.

Amy launched a pilot baling project in the last quarter of 2018. She found suppliers for all of the materials required for implementation, from baling wire to recycle bins in state offices, to bins for the collected paper and cardboard. Next, Amy began recruiting the manpower necessary to make things run smoothly. Now, each morning Amy goes to White Farm and prepares the paper and cardboard for sale; costs for single stream collection of the material are also avoided. To date, over 100,000 pounds of office paper and cardboard have passed through the baling program.

If you would like to chat more about the State’s recycling program, please contact Amy Farnum at amy.Farnum@das.nh.gov and she is always available to collaborate.