One person noticeably absent from the grand opening celebrations of the new Boulder County Recycling Center was Mary Sucke, one of our EcoCycle Grandmothers, and one of the community leaders responsible for getting us this far. Sadly, Mary passed away in July, two months before she could enjoy the fruits of some of her good work.

Mary’s involvement with recycling in Boulder County dates way back. When the EcoCycle Longmont program began in 1984, she was Chairperson of the Boulder County Solid Waste Advisory Council (SWAC), as well as a member of the ad hoc advisory board created to promote and build the new EcoCycle Longmont program. She was one of the original Longmont Block Leaders and Region Leaders, famous for her ingenuity in enlisting young kids in her neighborhood to go door-to-door to rally recycling support. Mary made up signs, which she posted on every utility pole in her Block Leader area. The kids were rewarded with bubblegum and her neighborhood participation went way up, though not enough to satisfy Mary. She always wished for 100% participation.

Mary was articulate, passionate, and had a great talent for objectivity. No one could state her personal opinion with quite as much flair. Whenever recycling or EcoCycle needed her advice or support, Mary was always there.

We will miss Mary. Neither the recycling world, nor the Boulder County community will be the same without her. We honor her for her many years of dedication to furthering recycling in the county and for her friendship and love as one of the esteemed “EcoCycle Grandmothers.”

Thank you, Mary.