Assignment ARA By Jim Jennings
jim@a-r-a.org
CertifiedGreen inNewHampshire!
y the time you read this issue of Automotive Recycling magazine, the tiny town of Weare, New Hampshire (population 8,785) might very well be under a covering of snow – it tends to do that in New Hampshire, and the New England area in general, this time of year. And it is that covering of snow and the ultimate spring melt that prompted the state to institute a program impacting automotive recyclers in an effort to pro- tect one of the state’s most valuable resources – its environment. In 2002, New Hampshire, like many other states in the country, began notic- ing some water quality issues. Officials from the state’s Department of EnvironmentalServices decided to reach out to industries whose business opera- tionsmaybe havinganimpact, including the state’s professional recyclers. “I think originally the plan was to shut those facilities down, but instead, the per- son who was running the program said let’s see what’s going on at these facilities. At the same time, Jeff Kantor, an ARA lifetime member recipient and then- devoted industry activist, knockedonthe door and said ‘we know you’re coming and let’s see what we can do,’” recalled Tara Mae Albert of the New Hampshire SolidWaste Management Bureau. From this encounter, the New Hamp-
B
shireGreenYardprogramfor automotive recyclers was born. Four years later, a more stringent program, the Certified New Hampshire Green Yard program was instituted.
David Wilusz, owner of Allied Auto
Wrecking inWeare, is the program’s most recent graduate, having been certified in September after a tedious and compre- hensive process. Beingcertifiedbythe statehasbeenone of his goals since the program’s inception. “I would say, probably, inthe last ten years since the Green Yards program came about, it was always on my mind, but we
14 Automotive Recycling | November-December 2016
had a lot of areas to improve,” says Wilusz. “Also, we know there is a lot of education of what we do as salvage yards. While many still refer to them as junkyards and don’t understand what we do, it’s getting a lot better.”
David Wilusz, Allied Auto Wrecking in Weare, New Hampshire and his team. Wilusz admits he couldn’t have done it
all alone. “Things started rolling togeth- er about five years ago when we got rid of our 40,000 tire pile. Then, Tara gave me a little nudge about two years ago. We knew we were probably ready, yet Tara gave me a ‘you’re almost there’ look. So we just buckled down. At that point, much of it was just signage, an evacuation plan, little stuff,” says Wilusz.
Allied is the fifth New Hampshire ARA member to become certified, and only one of about 25 in the state out of 150 yards statewide. It’s a difficult process for a state agency
that has little say over who becomes a licensed salvage yard or recycler – the local town issues the licenses to the busi- ness, not the state. Albert admits that it is difficult trying to get more operations enrolled in the Green Yard program for many reasons, but mostly due to the licensing structure. “We are finding more yards that are basically people who just go out and find cars rather than recycle, and then there are the fly-by-night operations. But it’s hard since the facilities are licensed by the towns and not the state, and some of the towns do a really great job of keeping us informed and who is actively promoting it whereas other towns I have to seek them out,” said Albert. Weare is one of those towns that does a great job, says Wilusz, whose yard is a full-service facility. “The town comes in once a year and does a walk around and makes sure everything is okay, and then
we get recertified by the town.” He admits Green Yard was a strict pro- gram, but then in the same breath, “Yea it’s strict, but I run the ship that way. The guys know they need to pick up. Come 4:30 every day everybody around the shop stops and begins to clean up. The delivery guys clean the trucks. It’s a daily routine, and on Saturdays when the work begins we run a crew and it is finish proj- ect day and extra cleaning.” It may not coincide with his Certified New Hampshire Green Yard award, but Wilusz was recently named President of ARA’s affiliated state chapter, the Auto & Truck Recyclers of New Hampshire, and he plans to increase ARA’s membership. “I’vebeenworkingonit. That’soneofmy goals. I am going to stop in when I get a chance, call them when I get a chance. We’ve got a lot of things in the works.” ForAlbert, shehasmovedonas thenew Solid Waste Operating Training Program Director, but not without remorse. “The New Hampshire Green Yard pro-
gram has been extremely rewarding to work with these men and women, and they havebeenveryopento the rules that are there to keep the environment clean. They understand that this is their land, and they need to keep it clean – it’s been a partnership,” she says.
Jim Jennings, a former newspaper reporter, is ARA’s director of communications and public relations. He has more than 25 years of expe- rience in communications and public relations in the metro Washington, D.C. area, specializ-
ing in small business issues.
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