O’Connor, Summer Resort Recycling Expert Retires

SWAINTON — She wrote the book on getting visitors to recycle in summer resorts.
Bridget M. O’Connor, recycling coordinator for the county Municipal Utilities Authority (MUA), was honored Wed., Nov. 16 on the occasion of her retirement after more than 25 years of service.
Charles Norkis, MUA executive director, said recycling seems to be an easy thing to do these days “but she was here when people didn’t like recycling and there was no such thing as a program…”
“She was here for the tough part of the recycling program and invented these programs,” he said.
Norkis said O’Connor was considered an authority on the subject and has been invited to speak at conferences. He said O’Connor has a Master’s Degree in biology and was “a smart person to start with.”
The state made recycling mandatory for all citizens shortly after O’Connor started her position with the MUA. Working with schools, she has produced a new generation of residents that are committed to recycling, said Norkis.
O’Connor received the 2011 NJDEP award for outstanding achievement in recycling, the 19th annual Cape May County Chamber of Commerce Conservation Award and a proclamation from Cape May Point.
Norkis thanked her for her hard work and dedication. O’Connor’s ideas on recycling in resort towns were published in a story in the national Resource Recycling Journal, he noted.
“She received calls from as far away as Hawaii to try to establish their own tourist recycling programs,” said Norkis.
Board of Commissioners Chairman George Betts called O’Connor a “hands-on worker.” He recalled seeing O’Connor at the transfer station on Hazardous Waste Day standing on a truck dumping in paint cans.
“You’ve made recycling what it is in Cape May County,” said Commissioner John Pantalone.
In Resource Recycling, O’Connor addressed recycling in a county with 43 campgrounds. She noted recycling containers needed to be easily distinguishable from trash cans.
People on vacation will use labeled recycling containers with specialized lids, she said in the magazine story.