Pound Ridge: An Earth Day Pioneer
Pound Ridge’s natural beauty is among its greatest assets and residents have a tradition of protecting its earthly treasures. From the creation of the Ward Pound Ridge Reservation to the energetic work of the Pound Ridge Land Conservancy, Pound Ridge often takes a lead in prioritizing the environment. A shining example of this was the creation of what is thought to be the first recycling center in Westchester County.
Shortly after the Earth Day movement began in 1970, women on the “Social Concerns” committee at the Pound Ridge Community Church, including Fran Maoire and Pound Ridge Historical Society’s own Ebie Wood, decided that Pound Ridge would be a vanguard in the new recycling movement. With borrowed empty oil drums and local volunteers, they opened Pound Ridge’s first recycling center in July of 1971. They did so on the second anniversary of Neil Armstrong’s walk on the moon and local radio ads announced, “On July 20th, 1969, Neil Armstrong took one giant leap for mankind …on this July 20th, you can take One Small Step for a cleaner environment.”
The “One Small Step” recycling center was initially located in the parking lot of Conant Hall. Over 250 residents from Pound Ridge and Bedford manned the new center and recyclers visited from across Northern Westchester. Armed with sledgehammers, goggles and gloves, volunteers crushed glass, bundled newspapers, separated metal, and loaded material into drums for pick up. Visitors swelled, and the center was relocated to the site of the Pound Ridge Highway Department. The center’s popularity exceeded expectations and its early profits were enough to finance a new wood chipper for the town.
Recycling has since gone mainstream — and single stream ; ) — but Pound Ridge continues its efforts. At the current recycling center, residents can recycle plastic, glass, paper, cardboard, metal, and e-waste. There’s composting too! The center is located at 290 Stone Hill Road and is open every Wednesday from 8:00am to noon and Saturday from 8:00am to 3pm. If you visit, take pride knowing that the people of Pound Ridge took recycling into their own hands and made history.