Kent Pelkey, a teacher at Dunn School in Gray, was honored last week for his contributions to preserving local ecology with the 2009 eco-Excellence Award for Gray, given annually by ecomaine.

The nomination was submitted by Randy Cookson on behalf of the Gray Solid Waste & Recycling Committee to recognize Pelkey’s accomplishments in school recycling. Pelkey, a computer lab teacher, began discussing with his students the importance of recycling as part of the curriculum. He worked with the school to place recycling bins in each classroom and organized the collection of about 10,000 pounds of paper per year, which he delivers the Gray Transfer Station in his own truck.

Winners of the 2009 eco-Excellence Award were chosen from among all the nominations by members of the ecomaine Recycling Committee. Moon said, “The range and impact of green activities from which we all benefit is huge and very deserving of recognition. They include individuals, schools, businesses, and civic groups that have one thing in common – they care enough about the environment to take action.”

A luncheon was held at the ecomaine offices in Portland to honor the winners from all 30 participating municipalities. Chairman of the Board Tony Plante, of Windham, and Recycling Committee Chair Troy Moon, of Portland, presented each winner with a framed award and a duffle bag made from 100 percent post-consumer recycled material.

ecomaine is a municipally-owned non-profit organization, which owns the only single-sort recycling facility built in Maine. It also owns and operates a landfill/ashfill and a waste-to-energy plant that produces electricity. The recognition luncheon also included an exchange of ideas among the eco-Excellence winners and a tour of the $3.7 million single-sort recycling system.

ecomaine Recycling Committee Chairman Troy Moon, Kent Pelkey, Randy Cookson, and ecomaine General Manager Kevin Roche.