NEW HAVEN >> The area’s second refueling station for vehicles powered by compressed natural gas has opened in the city’s Fair Haven section.
The facility is on the property of All American Waste, a New Haven-based garbage hauler with a facility on Wheeler Street in the city. New Haven Mayor Toni Harp visited the new CNG refueling station for a ribbon-cutting ceremony Wednesday morning.
“We are determined to do all we can to encourage business growth and expansion,” Harp said in a statement. “In doing so, we’re working to create good, local jobs for local residents. My administration has also made environmental stewardship a priority, and CNG-powered cars, trucks, and buses fit hand-in-glove with that.”
Improving the health of our employees and their families has been our focus for some time. In 2014 we established a Wellness Committee to take that focus to a higher level. This effort began in March of 2015 with a “Know Your Numbers” biometrics event that was held at several company locations. From this event, we were able to determine the top factors that were negatively impacting our employee-family quality of life.
It turned out that hypertension was one of those negative factors. Armed with this information, the Wellness Committee explored what could be done in the workplace to begin to address this issue.
Annual summer picnics have been highlights for our employees at various sites between June and September. Historically, the fare at these picnics has been traditional – cheese burgers, hot dogs, potato salad, ice cream and the like. The Wellness Committee detected a correlation between that menu and the problem of hypertension among our employees.
Employees of Highland Park Market prepare food for All American Waste’s Healthier Picnic in New Haven, CT.
Teaming up with Highland Park Market, the “Healthier Picnics” initiative was developed. In East Windsor, Berlin, South Windsor, New Haven, New Milford, Waterbury, Stratford, Winsted, and Hartford, employees were offered an alternative to the traditional and a more healthy perspective on food that can be good, good for you, and fun.
Highland Park’s menu consisted of tossed salad, grilled chicken, grilled shrimp, and grilled salmon. Sides of cucumber tomato salad, black bean salad, Italian-style cole slaw and fruit salad were available as were turkey, ham, and roast beef wraps. Frozen yogurt and healthy drinks rounded out the offerings.
Hundreds of our employees participated in “Healthier Picnics” and were overwhelmingly positive about their experience. Plans are in the works for 2016 to expand the number of “Healthier Picnics” and the menus offered.
A team of volunteers from All American Waste participated in the 19th annual Source To Sea Cleanup on Saturday, September 26th, 2015. The group, cleaning along the Connecticut River on Parsons Road in Enfield, CT, were able to collect a full truck load of trash and recyclables that otherwise would still be littering the river. They joined the hundreds of volunteers from northern New Hampshire and Vermont, down through Massachusetts, all the way to southern Connecticut that took part over the 2 day cleanup. The groups clean in and around the river, as well as surrounding wetlands and tributaries. All American Waste is also a sponsor of the Connecticut River Watershed Council’s (CRWC) yearly Source To Sea Cleanup.
From the CRWC website:
The Source to Sea Cleanup is a yearly trash cleanup of the Connecticut River and its tributaries in the four-state basin (NH, VT, MA, CT). Volunteer group leaders coordinate local cleanup sites where participants of all ages and abilities spend a few hours picking up trash. We all have a responsibility to solve this trash problem— individuals, manufacturers, businesses, and government. By participating in the Source to Sea Cleanup, you are part of the solution for cleaner rivers.
For more information on the Source to Sea Cleanup and how you can get involved, visit www.ctriver.org/cleanup.
