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Sustainability Commission honors four 2015 winners
Two local companies, a City of Greencastle official and a DePauw University senior were honored Tuesday evening when the Greencastle Commission on Sustainability unveiled its annual awards.
At the outset of Tuesday night's City Council meeting, Sustainability Chairman Anthony Baratta announced the winners of the Business of the Year, Best Practices of the Year, Outstanding Citizen of the Year and Young Leader of the Year, presenting them or their representatives with plaques detailing the honor.
Baratta noted that the Greencastle Commission on Sustainability was established under Ordinance 2009-5 in part to "enhance the socio-environmental-economic well-being of the community while taking precautions not to compromise the quality of life of future generations."
"Toward that end, it reduces its use of non-renewable natural resources and its production of wastes, while at the same time improving livability. The mission of the Greencastle Commission on Sustainability is to promote sustainable socio-environmental-economic well-being of Greencastle and all its inhabitants," the commission chairman added.
With that in mind, the group honored and acknowledged Buzzi Unicem, Republic Services, Mayor Sue Murray and DePauw senior Sara Lejsner.
In being named Business of the Year, Buzzi Unicem (formerly Lone Star Industries) was singled out for working the past several years to make changes in its Environmental Protection Agency "license" to allow it to burn medications strictly as a community service.
Until that time, the Greencastle Police Department was forced to wait to schedule a Drug Take Back event until the state was promoting a statewide effort to allow for the safe destruction of meds.
Buzzi's ability to assist with the destruction of medications, Baratta noted, enables the Greencastle Police Department to coordinate the gathering and disposal schedule, helping to remove hundreds of pounds of unused medications from our medicine cabinets, landfills and streams.
Republic Services, meanwhile, was named honored for Best Practices of the Year for providing "reliable trash and recycling services to Greencastle."
In partnership with Republic, the City of Greencastle is able to offer curbside recycling, the honor noted.
Recyclable items collected through Republic are taken to its Materials Recovery Facility in Indianapolis, where they are then sold and made into new products.
Meanwhile, in being named Outstanding Citizen of the Year, Mayor Murray, who has served the past eight years as Greencastle's chief executive, was honored for being as the forefront of many of the group's accomplishments.
"She is an invaluable leader in our community," Baratta said, "and has been instrumental in launching many of the city's sustainability initiatives, including our Sustainability Commission."
During Mayor Murray's tenure, Greencastle has repeatedly received the Indiana Green Community of the Year from the Indiana Association of Cities and Towns, and most recently earned the Indiana Bicentennial Green Legacy Community award from the Indiana Bicentennial Commission.
Honored with the Young Leader of the Year Award, DePauw senior Lejsner was lauded for her efforts in serving with the Office of Sustainability through all four years of her DePauw career.
Initially the lead student coordinator for the Greencastle Community Bikes program, she now serves in the top leadership position of student director for DePauw's 55-student Sustainability Leadership Program.
Lejsner currently manages student projects related to the Greencastle Sustainability Commission and recycling in the residence halls. In her free time, she is working on her Honor Scholar thesis related to sustainable agriculture.
For additional information on local sustainability efforts, persons may contact Sustainability Chairman Baratta at 658-4535 or the Mayor's Office at 653-3100.