Issue link: https://nebusinessmedia.uberflip.com/i/480064
www.CTGreenGuide.com Fall 2014 • Connecticut Green Guide 27 owns the 14.9 megawatt fuel cell installation. "He has done a great job of promoting that, and his constitu- ency seems to be behind him." Despite larger achievements and ambitions, Finch focuses on the little things about his city that seem to say the environment is improving. The city used to have only one pair of nesting osprey on its coast, Finch says, because of the depletion of their food source and DDT contami- nation in the environment. Thanks to the installation of fishways on dams and the banning of DDT, that nesting osprey number has grown back to 10 pairs. "It is all about a proper management of the natural environment," Finch said. Finch said his proudest eco-friendly accomplish- ment as mayor was the $1.5 million implementation of single-stream recycling in the city. Through the intro- duction of 64-gallon recycling bins for residents, the recycling rate in the city increased 70 percent, reducing tip fee expenses and increasing the income received from selling recyclable goods. Residents are filling up the 64-gallon bins so fast that the city plans on switching them to 90-gallon bins in the near future, Finch said. "It is really symbolic because of the public participa- tion," Finch said. "I talk to kids about recycling all the time, and they instinctively just want to do it." Finch wants Bridgeport to win the race to zero waste, to be a city that produces no byproducts that must be discarded and are instead put back to productive use. He wants this to hold true not just for the waste/recy- cling stream, but for everything to the Green Energy Park to the Eco-Technology Park to how the city's resi- dents view the world around them. "We are eliminating the word 'Waste' from the dic- tionary," Finch said. "We are starting a new cycle." Eco-Technology Park inFo: Bridgeport's Eco-Technology Park is the home to dozens of proposed and realized businesses. park City Green — one of two mattress recycling facilities in Connecticut, expected to deconstruct 100,000 mattresses annu- ally after Connecticut passed the nation's first mattress recycling law in 2013. enviro express — A recycling and waste hauling business that in- stalled a compressed natural gas and liquefied natural gas fueling station for its trucks in 2010. The facility is open to the public. Tri-State Flexi-pave — A company headquartered in new york that makes permeable paving products out of recycled tires. The product is used for sidewalks, parking lots, and playgrounds. eCycling uSa — A proposed appliance recycling center to service both the Connecticut and new york market, with the ability to create 200-350 jobs. mam enterprises — A security and surveillance system company considering a Bridgeport location that offers cameras that use sensors, saving on recording time and personnel. The company could bring 12 jobs to the city. boot Camp Farms — A proposed 80,000-square-foot green- house that would hire veterans to grow fresh fruits and veg- etables, with the potential to create 35 jobs. The 14.9 fuel cell park often hosts tours with officials from around the globe wanting to learn more about the technology. PhoTo | PaBlo roBles New York-based Tri-State Flexi-Pave opened their New England distribution headquarters after the creation of the Eco-Technology Park. phoTo | pABLo RoBLES