“Good morning and happy Earth Week,” said Housatonic Resources Recovery Authority (HRRA) Director Cheryl Reedy, greeting students at Middle Gate Elementary School on April 22.

Ms Reedy and HRRA Assistant Director Jen Iannucci visited with students in math/science specialist Pam Fagan’s classroom on Monday to share ways the students can “reduce, reuse, recycle” and, by doing so, cut down the amount of trash thrown away each year.

According to Ms Reedy, a family of four disposes of 3¼ tons of trash each year.

Of all of the trash created in the year, Ms Reedy said 67.65 percent is put through the process of turning waste to energy, 24.20 percent is recycled, 7.48 percent is transported out of the state, and less than 1 percent is sent to landfills.

Throughout Ms Reedy and Ms Iannucci’s presentation, students were shown videos to explain certain parts of processes used by HRRA to deal with trash.

Overall, Ms Reedy said people do not recycle enough. All but roughly 10 percent of trash that is thrown away can be recycled or reduced, according to Ms Reedy.

Ms Reedy and Iannucci offered ways the students can “reduce, reuse, recycle,” including using items made from recycled materials, using reuable products, like cloth shopping bags instead of plastic bags, and using more efficient light bulbs.