WEF Staff Make the Local Environment a Little Cleaner for the Holidays

January 12, 2017

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WEF staff members, front row from left, Rahkia Nance, Kathryn Printz, Erin Valentine, Sarah Evans Moretti, Amanda Saxton, and Stefanie Walter, and back row from from left, Matt Ries, Caroline Pakenham, Eric Neal, Jennifer Fulcher, Sandi Grooms, Jessica Rozek, Justin Jacques, Theresa Mixon, Nick Bardis, Kelsey Hurst, Eric Leach, and Moises Rodriguez, participate in the 2016 service project coordinated by WEF Eco. WEF photo, Printz.

WEF staff members, front row from left, Rahkia Nance, Kathryn Printz, Erin Valentine, Sarah Evans Moretti, Amanda Saxton, and Stefanie Walter, and back row from left, Matt Ries, Caroline Pakenham, Eric Neal, Jennifer Fulcher, Sandi Grooms, Jessica Rozek, Justin Jacques, Theresa Mixon, Nick Bardis, Kelsey Hurst, Eric Leach, and Moises Rodriguez, participate in the 2016 service project coordinated by WEF Eco. WEF photo, Printz.

On Nov. 3, Water Environment Federation (WEF; Alexandria, Va.) staff took a break from work to make a big difference for the local environment. For the 2016 WEF Eco service project, 23 staff volunteers pitched in to clean the Oronoco Bay and Rivergate City parks, located a short distance away from WEF’s headquarters.

Staff members clean litter from the waterfront in Alexandria. WEF photo, Fulcher.

Staff members clean litter from the waterfront in Alexandria, Va. WEF photo, Fulcher.

Equipped with trash bags and gloves, volunteers ventured from the park area out onto the bushes and rocks lining the waterfront to pick up litter. In 2 hours, the volunteers collected 20 bags of trash. Not only did they unearth numerous plastic bottles and discarded food containers; they also found a coconut, a wooden doorstop, various items of clothing, a plate of oranges, a stuffed penguin, and flip flops.

Volunteers gathered litter to fill 20 bags of trash during the project. WEF photo, Ries.

Volunteers gathered litter to fill 20 trash bags during the project. WEF photo, Ries.

WEF launched the WEF Eco program in mid-2007 in an effort to reduce the organization’s effect on the environment. The WEF Eco team worked with the City of Alexandria to organize the project.

In addition to the service project, the team hosted an e-waste collection drive. During the 6-week collection that began on Oct. 31, the team collected 8 kg (18 lbs) of batteries, 1.8 kg (4 lbs) of lighting waste such as light bulbs and ballasts, and 138 kg (305 lbs) of other electronic waste such as keyboards, phones, fax machines and printers. The e-waste has been collected and delivered to an Air Cycle Corp. (Lisle, Ill.) facility, where it will be recycled.

Jennifer Fulcher, WEF Highlights

WEF 2016 Service Project Gallery

WEF photos courtesy of Fulcher, Ries, Printz, Saxton, and Nance.

Read more about WEF’s sustainability efforts in the WEF Highlights articles

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