in focus
By Kate Anderson Photos courtesy of Jane Enneking
Purposeful Plastic Westerville Lions Club project turns recycled plastic into benches
M
embers of the Westerville community are coming together to make it easy to recycle while also giving back to the community. A collabora-
12 July/August 2022
tion between the Westerville Lions Club, Green Haven Living and Trex Company has recycled thousands of pounds of plastic. And it comes back to the city – benches
made of recycled materials are then given to Westerville. Jane Enneking, who joined the Lions Club to honor her father, started the recycling program in May 2021. She says she’s always had an interest in recycling and reducing waste. This project targets waste not commonly recyclable at home, such as plastic bags. The project sprung into fruition quickly due to the support of the Westerville community. Enneking says connections at Trex, a Virginia-based company that creates products from recycled materials, helped her get the project started. “(The people at Trex) are very supportive,” she says. “They usually respond within a day of any emails, answer all of our questions, (provide) videos about how everything in the project works. It’s been a good relationship with them.” While coordinating with businesses to set up drop-off locations across the city, Enneking met Angie Scheu, owner of Westerville business Green Haven Living. The program made clear connections to the values of the sustainable home and gift store. “I’m a lifelong environmentalist,” Scheu says. “It just seemed like kind of a perfect program for us to do together.” Scheu says her passion for helping the environment inspired her to start Green Haven and also fueled her involvement with the recycling project. Green Haven Living’s contributions are integral to the success of the project, Enneking says. In addition to providing a drop-off location, Green Haven’s staff takes the plastic to the Trex locations as well. While Green Haven, located at 20 W. Main St., is the main drop-off site, there are other collection sites throughout the community, including one at Uptown Westerville’s Saturday Farmers Market during the summer months and one at Mount Carmel Rehabilitation Hospital. www.westervillemagazine.com
