Retired Hartford Public Works Director Marilynn Cruz-Aponte was honored Monday with an Environmental Stewardship Award from the Mattress Recycling Council in recognition of her contributions to protecting Connecticut’s environment.
Cruz-Aponte was crucial to the successful 2013 enactment of Connecticut’s mattress recycling law – a first of its kind in the nation – which has saved Connecticut municipalities and taxpayers millions of dollars and led to the recycling of over 1.5 million mattresses that would have otherwise been added to the waste stream.
In a statement released by the Mattress Recycling Council, Cruz-Aponte said she was honored to received the award.
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“Recycling programs of various kinds have been at the center of my career in local government service and my early involvement in the mattress program is one of the biggest efforts I have helped push forward,” Cruz-Aponte said. “Once implemented, the success of the program was seen immediately.”
According to the council, since its inception the program has seen steady growth:
- 1.5 million mattresses and box springs recycled;
- More than 24,000 tons of steel, foam, fibers and wood salvaged, and;
- 154 drop-off locations in Connecticut cities and towns established.
“The success of our program would not have been possible if not for the leadership of people like Marilynn, who saw early the need and the potential for a law that would address the growing environmental and financial cost of the improper disposal of used mattresses and box springs,” said Dan McGowan, MRC’s Northeast Senior Program Coordinator. “We are pleased to have this chance to reward her hard work.”
