Mike Skapura has gone from making items to recycling them.
On Sept. 2, he took on the role of executive director of nonprofit Westmoreland Cleanways and Recycling in Unity after more than 26 years working at Latrobe’s Westmoreland Plastics plant.
“It was a big change going from a for-profit industry to a nonprofit,” said Skapura, who lives in Unity and is a Latrobe firefighter. But, after rising to the vice president post at Westmoreland Plastics, “I just wasn’t liking the stress in the manufacturing world anymore. Being able to do this was a great opportunity for me.”
Skapura succeeds Ellen Keefe, who was the face of and driving force at Westmoreland Cleanways before retiring with 23 years of service. Before stepping away from the organization, Keefe received the Daniel G. Weisenbach Environmental Stewardship Award presented by the Professional Recyclers of Pennsylvania (PROP).
“I have some big shoes to fill,” Skapura said. He’s gotten off to a good start, training alongside Keefe for two months and recently completing a two-day course in Centre County, part of the process of gaining certification with PROP.
Before joining the organization, Skapura said, his sole encounter with Westmoreland Cleanways was dropping off some old televisions for recycling. But, through his previous civic roles as deputy mayor and two-term councilman in Latrobe, he was familiar with Keefe, who is a member of the Latrobe and Derry Township municipal authorities.
“At the end of the day, the job has to get done, and the bills have to get paid, something Mike and I both are good at,” Keefe wrote in one of her final entries in the Westmoreland Cleanways newsletter.
As at his previous job, Skapura has a staff to manage at Westmoreland Cleanways’ dropoff recycling center along Pleasant Unity Mutual Road. That includes program director Natalie Reese, three full-time workers and two part-timers.
And he still has a bottom line to watch. Over the past few years, the nonprofit’s annual budget has grown from $342,000 to $440,000, as it increased the amount of recyclable materials it handles and improved wages and benefits to retain its workers.
But, unlike his previous employer, Skapura noted, Westmoreland Cleanways has an environmental mission that drives everything he does. “We’re keeping things out of the landfill. And if there’s a cost to that, that’s what we have to do,” he said.
Because of that mission, Westmoreland Cleanways is eligible for state grants and receives financial support from Westmoreland County to supplement its operational revenue. It retains 50 cents of the $3 it charges for each used passenger tire it accepts and less than $2 on the $20 it charges for each Freon-containing appliance it takes in.
“I’ve come to learn how much we’re needed and used in this area,” said Skapura. In 2020, 751 tons of hard-to-recycle items passed through Westmoreland Cleanways recycling center.
The biggest portion of that is used televisions and other electronics, including computers and printers. Westmoreland Cleanways is one of the few places people can get rid of old TVs for free, as long as the set’s housing is intact.
Skapura estimated the nonprofit ships tens of thousands of pounds of electronics each week to a Somerset County firm that dismantles them, so much of the material can be processed into new items.
The Unity recycling center also accepts clear, brown and green glass bottles and jars — items that no longer are allowed in many curbside recycling programs.
One of the center’s newer capabilities is accepting foam cups, plates, bowls, egg cartons, meat trays and block-style packaging typically found with electronics or furniture. The center’s densifier machine compresses it by close to 90% so it can be shipped to a processor for reuse.
With the help of local volunteers who are looking for community service credits, Skapura is breaking down two trailer loads of defective reservoirs from continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machines. They use hammers to punch out a stainless steel plug from each reservoir’s polycarbonate body so the materials can be sent to separate processors.
“So far, we’ve sold 71⁄2 tons of the polycarbonate,” Skapura said.
Partnering with processing companies, the center periodically hosts recycling events for household hazardous waste such as oil-based or latex paints, drain cleaners, pool chemicals, fertilizers, cleaning agents, antifreeze, herbicides and pesticides. Registration is required at 412-567-6566 for the next event, set for 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Nov. 20.
Not long after he started at the center, Skapura encountered a hazardous item Westmoreland Cleanways doesn’t accept under any circumstance: Hand grenades a man showed up with trying to recycle.
“The bomb squad came out,” Skapura said. “They discovered they were live grenades. That was the most unusual item we’ve received since I’ve been here.”
An unusual dropoff that wasn’t hazardous was a used euphonium. Skapura is hoping to donate it to the music department at Greater Latrobe School District.
The Westmoreland Cleanways center includes six buildings on 8 acres.
“There’s a lot of potential here, and I plan to use that potential to the fullest,” Skapura said.
Following up on planning that began under Keefe’s leadership, he’s intent on converting one vacant building into office space, replacing a rented trailer. He’d also like to construct a gazebo or pavilion where school students could visit to learn about recycling and related environmental topics.
“With my business background and my connections that I have, I want to help Westmoreland Cleanways continue on the great road that Ellen set up,” he said.
The recycling center regularly is open to the public noon to 5 p.m. Mondays, 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Wednesdays and Fridays and 8:30 a.m. to noon the second Saturday of each month.
Visit westmorelandcleanways.org for more details about the center and materials that may be dropped off there.
Jeff Himler is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Jeff at 724-836-6622, jhimler@triblive.com or via Twitter .
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