NRRA recognizes Wellesly Recycling superintendent

The Northeast Resource Recovery Association (NRRA), Epsom, New Hampshire, has announced it awarded Gordon Martin with a Special Recognition Award May 16, 2016, at NRRA’s Annual Conference and Expo, held at the Radisson Hotel in Nashua, New Hampshire.

Martin has worked for the town of Wellesley, Massachusetts,’ Recycling and Disposal Facility for the past 38 years. He retired as superintendent in February 2016. He has been a NRRA trustee for 15 years.

“I took the job only for the winter and I ended up staying 38 winters,” Martin said. “I saw recycling in its infancy and I remember seeing it and thinking that we could do a better job of the way we did things.”

Among Martin’s contributions to the town of Wellesley, Department of Public Works Director Mike Pakstis says the most effective was the purchase of the baler in 1996, which condenses materials to make them easier to sell.

“He sets the bar for everybody else,” says Pakstis. “He’s very passionate at what he does but with a keen business sense, so everything he touches he tries to maximize the revenue for the town.”