Greenwood focusing on recycling for Earth Month with new program

GREENWOOD, Ind. (WISH) — The City of Greenwood will soon be living up to its name a little bit more.

Tuesday the city announced a new recycling program in conjunction with April’s Earth Month.

The benches in Greenwood’s City Center Park are colorful, but they’re also very “green.”

“They’re made out of recycled material, recycled plastics,” Greenwood Parks and Rec Director Rob Taggart said.

Taggart said many features of the parks system are Earth-friendly.

The water from the splash pad at City Center Park runs into a rain garden, instead of directly into a sewer.

That helps plants grow and naturally filters the water.

And a new deck that’s set to be built at the park also fits the “green” mindset.

“We’ve specified the material to be made out of composite,” Taggart said, “It’s a longer lasting material, it’s very durable, it’s also made out of recycled plastics.”

That deck will have the look of wood, but Taggart believes it is a much more environmentally conscious decision than buying real wood.

While the parks department has been a recycling leader within the city, now the rest of the departments are stepping up their game.

“Taking the next step further is looking at how we do our purchasing in the city,” Deputy Mayor Terry McLaughlin said.

McLaughlin said the city is introducing a new purchasing program designed to support recycling and re-use of materials.

“We do a lot of purchasing throughout the city, a lot of different functions, whether it’s for office supplies, parks, fleet maintenance,” he said.

He said those purchasing decisions will now take into account whether those materials are recyclable or even already post-consumer.

Those materials could include anything from office paper to anti-freeze.

“I think we can look at everything from A to Z throughout the city,” he said, “I don’t think there’s anything we shouldn’t look at to be quite honest.”

He hopes this effort is duplicated by Greenwood businesses and also encourages residents to recycle at their homes.

This month the city will debut a rain garden at the library.

And on April 29, the Greenwood Parks and Rec Department will be giving away 1,000 tree saplings to residents to celebrate Arbor Day.

Just head to the city center parking lot to pick one up.