Paul Berry

Paul works part-time at Zender, and part-time as the Gustavus Landfill Operator, where he lives. Paul started working at the Gustavus Disposal & Recycling Center in 1994. At that time the community’s landfill practiced open burning and the recycling program consisted of a glass bottle buster and open cribs for the shipment of aluminum cans. Since that time Paul has helped the facility transition away  from open burning to operating a balefill and the recycling program has been expanded to now include the baling and recycling of all metals, including white goods and refrigerators. Glass bottles are now pulverized and used on the facility’s driveway, there is plastics recycling, paper products recycling, e-waste recycling, a biennial HHW program, a food waste composting program and the integration of the community’s thrift store into the recycling operation. With humor and dedication, Paul has approached solid waste management as something positive for his community and is inspired in his work with Zender to spread this to other landfill operators around the state. Paul’s hobbies include local government (including one term as Gustavus’s Mayor), bicycling, reading Wikipedia, and listening to and composing electronic music.