While the Corporation of Shepherdstown has developed a longstanding commitment to caring for the environment, through means such as maintaining its Tree City USA designation and placing recycling receptacles along German Street, many of the companies that serve Shepherdstown residents do not have the same focus. One of those companies, Potomac Edison electric utility company, announced its decision to take one major step toward helping the environment, by no longer wasting a valuable resource.
“Potomac Edison is launching a sustainability initiative, to recycle and repurpose utility poles in its Maryland and West Virginia service territory,”said Potomac Edison communications representative Will Boye. “At participating service centers, the company will store used utility poles that will be redistributed to other parties – such as farmers, mills, charitable organizations and even employees – for direct reuse. Alternative uses for poles typically include fencing, parking bollards, guide rail posts, landscaping or treated wood construction.”
According to Boye, the company, which is a subsidiary of FirstEnergy Corporation, has previously cut up old utility poles and sent them directly to the landfill. Reusing and recycling the wood will decrease the number of trees needed to be cut down for wood-based projects. “We are committed to reducing waste and improving our recycling efforts, and this is an exciting opportunity for us to adopt a more environmentally friendly practice and find new uses for secondhand utility poles,” said Linda Moss, president of FirstEnergy’s Maryland operations. “We look forward to full implementation of this program across Potomac Edison’s service territory in 2022.”