Darien sustainability committee schedules Sustainable CT recertification, assigns leads for initiatives

At its Feb. 11 meeting, the Town of Darien Advisory Committee on Sustainability set a follow-up meeting for Sustainable CT recertification on Feb. 25 at 8:00 p.m. and assigned leads for a slate of initiatives the First Selectman requested.

Lauren Rossi, committee member, proposed approval of the previous meeting minutes and Cliff van Voorhees, committee member, seconded; the committee voted unanimously to submit the minutes to the town. Suman Bopaiah, committee member, was designated to serve as secretary beginning at the next meeting.

Carolyn Bayne, guest, provided a Sustainable CT update focused on recycling and Section 9.3, identifying opportunities to address hauler behavior, recycling education, and transfer-station practices. Bayne said she would send the committee a write-up summarizing those opportunities.

The committee assigned specific topic leads: Rossi will coordinate with the library on Earth Day programming tied to food-scraps, recycling and waste and will check with a contact named Joanne and whether Kathy can help; Cliff van Voorhees was named lead on food-scraps; Abby and van Voorhees were assigned to work on gas-powered leaf blower issues; communications and social media were assigned to Mohan Hanumantha, Rossi and Bayne; and energy-efficiency work was assigned to Hanumantha and Bopaiah, with Hanumantha planning to invite a vendor to present to the committee.

Why it matters: Sustainable CT recertification is a structured process that requires towns to document programs and progress on sustainability measures such as waste management and energy-efficiency. The committee’s assignments set the groundwork for Darien’s recertification materials and local outreach.

Next steps: the committee will reconvene Feb. 25 at 8:00 p.m. to continue the Sustainable CT recertification work and to review the write-up Bayne will provide.