Saving the environment, one trash can at a time on Fort Leonard Wood

By Mrs. Melissa Buckley (Leonard Wood)September 25, 2014

Saving the environment, one trash can at a time on Fort Leonard Wood
(Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

If you see a lady digging through your trash on post, don't be alarmed -- she is just doing her job to recycle the treasure in your can.

Carmen Wienforth-Wooten, Environmental Protection assistant, Directorate of Public Works Environmental Division, said he loves her job because she has a passion for helping Mother Earth.

"This is my dream job, because I have the opportunity to really make a difference by educating and assisting our community in becoming more environmentally conscious citizens, who will help protect our planet's natural resources for future generations to come," Wienforth-Wooten said.

"We are here to help any organization with their recycling efforts. We provide bins if we have some, teach training sessions and hand out training material," she added.

She said recycling is tremendously important, because it keeps materials like glass, aluminum, plastic, paper and cardboard out of the landfills.

"The valuable materials are simply buried for a long time and lost to us; however, recycling turns them into new, useable products. By recycling, we use fewer virgin materials, like wood for paper or petroleum for plastic," Wienforth-Wooten said.

According to Wienforth-Wooten, on average every American produces more than four pounds of trash daily.

"The good news is that most materials can be recycled, saving space in the landfills," Wienforth-Wooten said.

As an environmental protection assistant on Fort Leonard Wood, she assists the Recycling and Solid Waste Program manager by conducting training, assessing units, checking bins and attending many outreach events.

"On Fort Leonard Wood, recycling is mandatory. I help deliver this message by explaining the why and how," she said.

Each quarter Wienforth-Wooten is responsible for inspecting units that have applied for the Achievement in Recycling Award.

When she is not digging for recyclable treasures, she's checking to see if units have enough bins placed in strategic places, if materials in the recycling bins are clean and separated properly and if their paperwork is current and complete.

"The environmental compliance officer or recycling coordinator must be appointed and trained. I also analyze what efforts an organization is undertaking to reduce waste overall, for instance printing front and back, using reusable cups and reusing office supplies," Wienforth-Wooten said.

On Sept. 16, she visited Company C, 2nd Battalion, 10th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Chemical Brigade, barracks and company headquarters.

Staff Sgt. Susana Ogrady is a drill sergeant for Company C, 2nd Bn., 10th Inf. Reg., and she is also the environmental compliance officer for her company.

Ogrady nominated her company for the quarterly Achievement in Recycling Award, because she thought it would be a good opportunity to get everybody in her unit excited about recycling.

"I want all of us to recycle. Not just because you have to -- but because you should. My hope is that people start to realize that we have to recycle for the better of the world," Ogrady said.

"I expected her to go through our trash. When I went down to the company office last week, I went through their trash to see what they were throwing away," Ogrady said.

Ogrady took a class from Wienforth-Wooten in preparation for her inspection.

"I learned a lot from her. There is a lot more recyclable material than I thought. Now, I am constantly looking at all the labels to see what type of material things are made out of," Ogrady said.

Wienforth-Wooten said the most challenging thing about her job is getting people to change their trashcan habits.

"It can be difficult to convince people who believe recycling is too hard and to keep the Fort Leonard Wood community engaged in their recycling efforts every day," Wienforth-Wooten said.

"The recycling program is important for the Army. It's about economics -- the more material we can divert from being hauled to the landfill, the less the Army has to pay for that disposal," she added. "Think trash to treasure."

More information from the Directorate of Public Works Environmental Division can be found online at www.wood.army.mil/newweb/garrison/dpw_environmental.html or by contacting Wienforth-Wooten at carmen.m.wienforth-wooten.civ@mail.mil or 573.596.3843.

Related Links:

Fort Leonard Wood GUIDON Newspaper

Maneuver Support Center of Excellence and Fort Leonard Wood