[Vision2020] Talking trash with Andy Boyd

[Moscow Cares]

Courtesy of today's (July 24, 2915) Lewiston Tribune.

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Casual Friday: Moscow official Andy Boyd talks trash
Since the advent of his recycling program, there's considerably less to speak of
Andy Boyd grew up in Long Island, N.Y., and never envisioned putting down roots in north central Idaho.
But that's exactly what the operations manager for Latah Sanitation, Moscow Recycling and Clearwater Composting did after earning his master's degree and meeting his wife at the University of Idaho.
"I joke that the three things I miss about being back East are fireflies, because they're kind of cool, the fall colors and my friends," he said. "That's about it.
"There's too many people all in one spot; the indifference to humanity type of thing," he added. "Coming out here has been very nice - (the) open spaces. I'm glad people like to live in cities: Go, go, stay there. That's awesome."
When he's not working, Boyd enjoys gardening and backpacking. He has also been involved with Moscow's Renaissance Fair for more than 15 years, and has been a member of the city's Sustainable Environment Commission for more than a decade.
Doug Bauer: Recycling and sustainability are part of your job description, but they also seem important to you on a personal level. Why is that?
Andy Boyd: I just think it's important that we are stewards of the land. Essentially, we can't survive without it, but it can survive without us. I think we need to take care of that. People may argue that it's not that bad or whatever, but again, as a species, we tend to have to get the brick upside the head before we do something about it. I think in this case if we wait for the brick to hit us, we may end up hurting ourselves in the process.
DB: So your personal interests align with your career, don't they?
AB: Yeah. I mean, I'm happy with the things that we do and that we're able to keep things from going to landfills and that type of thing. It's funny because I never intended to get into this line of work after I got my master's at the UI and worked with the Forest Service seasonally for several years. But it's difficult to get a position there full time in the field of wilderness management. This job came along, and I had a CDL license. Seasonal (work) wasn't cutting it, having a family and all those types of things. I was like, this is full-time work, benefits, so I started out as a driver. When the recycling manager position at the recycling center became available, I was like, hey, I like that because that's really (somewhere) you can make a difference in terms of your job lining up with your personal belief system, so to speak. I thought that was a good match, and I enjoyed doing that, and I still oversee the facility. We're always trying to get as much stuff recycled as we can.
DB: Clearwater Composting has been operating a little more than a year: Are you satisfied with the progress being made?
AB: Absolutely. It's been a little bit of a learning experience. It's a little bit larger facility than we're running up in Moscow. Whenever you open up a new facility, there's a little bit of feeling it out. For instance, we've accepted almost twice as much yard waste as we had anticipated based on the numbers we were getting from the cities that were coming here. So that's been an adjustment in how to manage that. Now that we know how much is coming in, we've adjusted how we operate, and grinding and all that type of stuff, so that hasn't really been a problem anymore. And now that we have a year under our belt and have a better idea of what to expect, I think it will get more of a rhythm to it, so to speak.
DB: I don't think I've ever seen you without a bandana on your head. Is there a story behind it?
AB: When I grew my hair out and I was working, before I could get it back in a ponytail, the bandana was just a good way of keeping my hair out of my face. I joke with my wife that now I'm so gray that I don't have to color my hair. The bandana has the color in it for me. It's just one of those things that I can just throw it on and I don't have to worry about what's going on up there the rest of the day.
DB: What kind of music do you like listening to?
AB: It's fairly eclectic. I'll listen to big band or jazz or classic rock, classical, not too much country or rap. I haven't morphed into that for some reason. I'm originally from New York, and so country was never something I was raised on. I never caught the ear for that after moving out here.
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Andy Boyd

http://www.tomandrodna.com/Photos/Moscow/Moscow_Recycling_Andy_Boyd.jpg

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Seeya 'round town, Moscow, because . . .

"Moscow Cares" (the most fun you can have with your pants on)
http://www.MoscowCares.com
  
Tom Hansen
Moscow, Idaho

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