5 Questions with… HRRA Recycling Educator and Wilton Go Green President Tammy Thornton

She’s the Queen of Compost, the Reigning Champ of Reusables and she’s super nice and not at all judgy about those plastic bags we sometimes still send in our kids lunchboxes or the stuff we panic buy on Amazon. 

Lesley Kirschner spoke with Wilton’s Go Green’s President and Housatonic Resources Recovery Authority’s Recycling Coordinator/Educator Tammy Thornton for a Q&A on how easy (and sometimes not easy) it is being green. 

1. What is your coming to Wilton story? Based on your own experiences, what advice would you give to newcomers? 

Tammy Thornton: I grew up in New Fairfield, just North of Wilton, and my husband grew up in Danbury, so we’re both from around here. I went to college, lived in Boston for 11 years and moved back to Connecticut, to Stamford in 2012, where we lived for almost five years. 

When my oldest was starting kindergarten, we were finally ready to purchase a home. We were looking in Stamford and also in Wilton because that’s what was in our price range and we ended up finding a home in Wilton. And here we are — wow, nine years later. 

It’s so funny. I remember when the real estate agent drove us around, we didn’t realize there was a downtown in Wilton. We had always just used Wilton to get to Norwalk via Route 7… so it was a nice surprise. 

At the time, the movie theater was still here, and Cora Martin was still doing the Welcome Wagon. She literally kept calling and trying to connect with me and finally one day she just showed up in my backyard. The kids were little and she sat with me and gave me a basket that had all this information about things that were going on in the area and local businesses. So I feel I was very lucky. We moved to town at a good time. 

My advice to new people moving to town would be to get out of the house and do something. There are so many organizations and causes in town, it can be overwhelming. But immerse yourself in an organization. Get involved in your kid’s school. That’s how you get to know people. 

My kids always joke (and get annoyed) that everywhere we go I run into somebody I know. It’s sort of a running joke in our house. But that’s how you meet people, by getting involved. 

2. The new year brings a sense of wanting to make progress and change. Are you a resolution maker? If so, what is something you’re resolving to do better in 2025?

Thornton: I don’t think I ever got on the bandwagon my entire life with resolutions. I don’t know why, maybe it’s just one more thing on the ‘To Do List.’ 

The only time I think about making resolutions is when I’m doing stuff for Wilton Go Green. The last six years have been about encouraging others; encouraging others to have better resolutions around sustainability and waste education in their environment but it’s hard. It’s hard to get people to change. Human behavior is (sometimes) challenging. 

Apparently I’m supposed to be going to the gym now. Maybe that’s my resolution! I’ve been putting it off for a long time. 

For Christmas, my husband and I got each other membership cards to the Y. I actually did a Zumba class there on Sunday. I used to do Zumba all the time when I lived in Boston. I’m easing myself back into it. 

3. You’ve done a lot for the community, especially within the Wilton Public Schools district. Wilton Go Green has really taken initiatives like the WPS reusables to new heights. What has been your biggest challenge to date and how have you helped others to rise to the occasion? 

Thornton: Wilton Go Green got involved with Middlebrook School back in 2016 and piloted this sorting food/waste program in the cafeteria. [Initially], WGG paid for Curbside Compost to come pick up those food scraps and with the success of that pilot, the district decided they would pay for the rest of the year for that program at Middlebrook. 

WGG was there as a resource, to be supportive and the organization behind what we call the Zero Waste Schools Program; and also to bring in other community partners to help with things like education and signage. 

Then we decided to branch out, to engage with the other schools. At the time I was the PTA President for Miller-Driscoll School and I found out there was no recycling program in the schools. So I started this committee and we formed a Green Team and then each school formed their own Green Team in addition to the one at Miller-Driscoll and by 2018, we had all four schools on board. 

While all of this was going on, there were already conversations happening around how to move back to old-school reusables and stop throwing things like trays in the garbage. In addition to that and on a somewhat separate note, none of our schools had dishwashers. So the food service staff were washing all of the pots and pans and everything by hand. 

We had to figure out how to move things within the district forward; how to get some dishwashers into those kitchens and how to do it right. 

These conversations happened for a long time. [Superintendent] Kevin Smith was involved. [Former Middlebrook culinary instructor] Heather Priest was involved. But how do you finance something like that when there are so many other things that need funding, so many other priorities and maintenance issues and when there isn’t extra money in the budget? 

The short of it being, I had to learn a lot. I had to become acquainted with and connected to so many different organizations and partnerships. I had to look for matching grants and funding and the stars finally aligned and everyone came to the table and people donated. In town, in our community, people donated and made it happen. We were able to get the dishwasher and the equipment we needed and a lot of community members helped out and got other supplies donated.

But it’s definitely still a learning curve. We still have to have the time and energy to make sure it’s successful going forward. 

I’d still ideally like Middlebrook to get a dishwasher. That’s probably been my biggest challenge to date. But all in all, we have inspired a lot of people over the years with the Zero Waste Schools Program. 

4. My husband is definitely a ‘Larry Loves Leftovers’ type and I have to be pretty stealth when it comes to composting what used to be lasagna or salmonella salmon. What is your biggest pet peeve when it comes to wastefulness? 

Thornton: The out of sight, out of mind … people really don’t pay enough attention to what goes into their garbage cans. Or it’s hard and because it’s hard, people don’t want to do it. But it’s only hard if you choose not to want to change your behavior. It’s only hard if you choose not to learn. 

I wish people would just dedicate a little more time to thinking about waste and wastefulness. 

Kirshner: Do you think it works the other way too? Are we all just over-consuming and is that wasteful? 

Thornton: Yeah, we’ve been raised for convenience. Easy and quick. No one has any frustration tolerance. I’m guilty of it too. I’m not perfect. 

We’ve found ways to fill our time with other things, things that are more important [than being conscious about waste and being thoughtful]. It’s not important to people. People don’t necessarily value all the things that need to be done in the home anymore… which reminds me, I have an eggplant waiting to be battered and baked. 

Anyway, what goes in your garbage affects your wallet. There’s a lot of waste out there. 

5. Have you always been an Earth-loving, tree-hugging kinda gal? Was there a defining moment in your life that led you to the green? 

Thornton: College. I went to college and it was a slap in the face. I really thought I was going to save the whales. 

I learned how to scuba dive in preparation for this. I had literally been to the ocean maybe once or twice. 

I used to watch videos of whales. My mom used to play whale noises to get us to sleep. I love whales. I would definitely be a whale… in my next life. I have a very deep passion for whales. 

Then I took this environmental science course and my jaw dropped. It was eye opening. I was so sheltered. I had no idea what was happening here on Earth. 

So I came home my first semester and I went on this rampage and told my mom about how all these things were toxic and how everything needed to be recycled and how everything we were doing was completely wrong and I was fired up and disappointed and overwhelmed. It was my very abrupt introduction to the world. 

And then, of course, I mellowed out and realized I’m not an activist. That’s not my thing. I don’t like confrontation. I don’t go to rallies. I don’t picket things. I never did any of that stuff. 

I learned though, the only way to make any progress is to work with both sides. You can’t just always go against the other side. 

When I was in college, I took this nature writing course and our professor took us to this land trust that they had been able to preserve because of the ATV riders who wanted a place to ride. They wanted to preserve the land and even though their agendas were very different they were able to help each other. 

I guess sometimes you have to be able to work with the unexpected. I guess it’s just an interesting way to look at it.