Herbert Jue is helping to turn something old into something new as he mashes fruit peels and paper bags into compostable material for the Lower East Side Ecology Center.
“Composting is like brushing your teeth,” Jue said. “You have to do it. So I have to be here.”
What You Need To Know
- Herbert Jue has been volunteering with the Lower East Side Ecology Center for the better part of a decade. He helps manage the nonprofit organization's compost collection a few times a month.
- Jue learned thriftiness from his mother. He recently scaled back his volunteering work to help take care of her.
- The Lower East Side Ecology Center collects 16,450 pounds of compostable material at the Union Square Greenmarket each week
The Ecology Center has been running sustainability programs in the city for 35 years. Jue’s family practiced it long before he started volunteering with the nonprofit almost a decade ago.
“They want to make things last long and so all my clothes have been hand-me-downs,” Jue said.
Jue started with the Ecology Center’s stewardship team. He pulled weeds and planted bulbs in East River Park. Then he tacked on composting, which is now based at the Union Square Greenmarket.
The Ecology Center collects over 16,000 pounds of food scraps and recyclable materials for compost every week. Jue helps people sort through their donations, compresses them, tidies up the bags and greets the regulars.
He used to pitch in a few times every week, but scaled back recently to help take care of his elderly mother. He still keeps what she taught him in mind.
“Food scraps are sort of hand-me-downs,” Jue said. “We’re just reusing and recycling for the next generation.”
For helping to give new life to the City’s waste, Herbert Jue is our New Yorker of the Week.