Rain or shine, sleet and snow, the volunteers show up.

Thanks to the dedication of 15 volunteers, the Wareham Recycling Drop-Off Center is open two days a week on Rte. 28/Plymouth Road for the convenience of local residents and businesses. Volunteers help residents remove containers of papers, glass, plastic, cans, and cardboard from their vehicles, sort the stuff, and dump it into gigantic bins.

“It’s very rewarding to see people take an interest in the environment and see them recycling,” volunteer Joella Cruz said Saturday, January 28, as she helped out at the center. “My husband and I throw very little trash out now. We recycle as much as possible.”

Cruz, wife of Selectman Chair Walter Cruz, has been volunteering for a year. She said she heard about the center through a Board of Selectmen meeting, began recycling, and then volunteered at the center.

Volunteers come from all walks of life. The Evergreen House, a sober house, began sending volunteers on an as-needed basis about three years ago as a way to pay back the community. Peter McCarthy, assistant manager at Evergreen, said it really works both ways.

“It helps out the community and the guys need to be working. It gives them a good feeling to give back to the community,” he said.

You can tell who the volunteers are by their neon green vests. Not only does it identify them to residents dropping off recyclables, but it’s also a matter of safety. Between 100 and 150 people drive to the center every week, and there’s little room for error at the site. The vests help them stand out in the hubbub.

The center runs almost entirely on donations of time and money. According to Jack Dixon, site manager, Recycling Committee treasurer, and longtime recycling volunteer, a Walmart donation paid for the center’s five “roll-off” storage bins when it first opened 14 years ago.

The bins were painted by volunteers with recycled paint, Dixon said. Three sheds were purchased with grant money. They store the fluorescent bulbs, paints and varnishes that residents have dropped off and house a book exchange. A fourth shed was recently donated by Jennifer Grady, Recycling Committee chair.

Need a little bit of paint? Take it away from the recycling center for free from May to September. The center will also recycle auto tires and rims for $2 and $1 apiece, respectively.

The town provides $5,000 annually to pay for the center, but that doesn’t come close to covering costs, said Marilyn Field Russell, Recycling Coordinator.

Much of that money goes to paying for rent, water, electricity and the phone in the office trailer. The town is charged a fee for disposing of the recyclables, but there’s also a credit to the town for market value of metals, paper and cardboard.

Other sources of funds come from redemption of bottle returns that residents drop off, and about $1,000 per year comes from the fees charged for special recyclables such as tires, white goods, and paints.

The recycling coordinator position was eliminated by Town Meeting vote four years ago. But the Recycling Committee felt the work Russell did was important, so it kept her on as a consultant at 12 hours a week and pay her out of the committee's budget.

Right now, Russell said, that budget is down to about $300 and the Committee will have to switch over to using the recycling "revolving fund." That fund has about $2,000 in it, left over from grants and local donations.

As Recycling Coordinator, Russell reports on the recycling program to the state and keeps track of nearly 2,000 tons of recyclables from the center, the Carver and Rochester collection sites, and recyclables picked up from individual residents. She also tracks other materials collected at the center.

Russell attends state training to stay current on things like mercury disposal. She also prepares a report for the Town’s Annual Report, writes flyers and brochures, answers calls to the center, and recruits and schedules volunteers.

This year the center logged 1,686 volunteer hours. Volunteer time is used as a match for grants—another form of recycling. Russell secured $5,000 in grants for the town over the past four years, and has a $1,250 state grant application pending.

Russell began as a volunteer herself nine years ago, donating one Saturday a month.

“We’re always looking for volunteers—even if it’s a couple hours a month,” she said. “I’ve talked with other towns and they have a paid person to be at the site six hours a week. ... I don’t know what we’d do without our volunteers.”

And Jack Dixon is key, she said. “Here’s a man opening and closing [the center], shoveling snow, making repairs for free for 14 years. When Jack stops doing that, I don’t know what will happen.”

Located in East Wareham off of Maple Springs Road, the recycling center is open on Wednesdays from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Want to help out at the recycling center? Call 508-291-6520 or e-mail maefield@comcast.net.