What is your name? Molly McGrew

Where do you work and what do you do? I work out of my home in Lake Oswego. I'm a registered lobbyist representing Tribal clients, housing, healthcare, sustainable recycling, and nonprofits.

Tell us how you embrace recycling/sustainability into your home or workplace? Recycling is a religion in our house and we're passionate about it. As a parent, I've often held clothing and toy swaps with neighbors and friends as our kids got older. It's depressing how much we can't recycle and that is what motivated me to work with clients who are seeking low impact, environmentally friendly options that could provide solutions for plastic recycling that are not currently on the PRO list. In terms of my workplace: my approach is to only print when necessary, to bring my lunch/water bottle, and to wear upcycled or sustainable materials. Lastly, I love my office because it provides a healthy workspace filled with lots of plants!

What motivates you to recycle and live sustainably? What motivated me to recycle initially was out of financial reasons, because it's easy to do and it saves money. Over time, and as it's become a habit, it's more about doing everything that I can to reduce my and my family's impact on the overall environment; especially now that the problem is so severe, and the ability to scale meaningful recycling that reduces the amount of virgin plastic is a daily reminder of the need to be thoughtful in my everyday habits and purchases.

How did you learn about AOR? DEQ Recycling Council Meeting