MANCHESTER, Conn. — The Shoppes at Buckland Hills is celebrating the unique accomplishment of one of its longstanding employees, who has collected and recycled over 200,000 cans and bottles from the mall over the past 15 years.
In the center of the food court, an exhibit has been put on display to honor the hard work and recycling efforts of Esmond Lee, who has spent more than two decades working at the mall. For most of his time there, he has supplemented his income by separating cans and bottles from the building’s trash supply and depositing them.
According to the Shoppes at Buckland Hills, Lee has diverted the “equivalent of over 20 tractor trailers full of cans and bottles” from reaching local landfills.
A month after immigrating to the United States from San Angelo, Jamaica in 2001, Lee gained employment at the mall as a maintenance worker, and he hasn’t looked back since. Today, the 65-year-old lives in Hartford and brings renewed passion to his job each day in Manchester. He said he learned how to clean as a youth back in Jamaica.
“I do cleaning. I like to clean the food court. I love to do that because I learned to clean back home,” Lee said in an interview with FOX61. “It’s part of my life to clean. That’s why I’ve stuck around so long here.”
Lee said he began collecting and recycling cans and bottles at the mall when he realized he could put some change in his pocket while preventing them from entering a landfill. He said it also gives him strength.
While the hobby is time consuming, it doesn’t bother Lee, who genuinely enjoys what he does.
“When I’m doing something, I just do it. I just keep on working,” Lee said. “That’s how I do it, and that’s how I go. If you’re doing something, you continue. If there’s something better, you go to it, but I just love it here.”
Describing his process, Lee said he picks up the trash and takes it out. While he’s taking it out, he collects whatever cans and bottles he can find. He goes upstairs and downstairs in pursuit of recyclables that would otherwise be thrown out. Lee takes pride in pulling and separating the items himself before delivering them to the redemption center.
When asked what he does with the money he’s made, Lee said he has made donations to the Church of God back home in Jamaica. When questioned about the importance of recycling, he replied that it is both fun and necessary.
“They tell you recycling is good to keep the place clean and (help) the environment. You can recycle and use (the materials again), so it’s a good idea,” Lee said. “I would say it’s a good thing to take care of the environment because it’s better for you, better for the country, better for everybody… If you see one on the street, pick it up. Why not?”
In his spare time, Lee is a music lover and a DJ who enjoys reggae music and R&B. Being from Jamaica, Lee said he hates the cold. He enjoys working at the mall because the temperature is relatively the same inside all throughout the year.
And all throughout the year, there is an opportunity for Lee to continue doing what he loves. He plans to continue picking up bottles and cans for as long as he works at the mall and beyond that. The Shoppes at Buckland Hills said in the exhibit dedicated to Lee and recycling that they hope he stays on for another 20 years.
“So long as I’m working here, I will continue to do it. As long as I’m working, I will continue,” Lee pledged.
While Lee does collect bottles and cans wherever and whenever he sees them on the ground, he primarily does his work in the mall. He credited his colleagues at the mall for often offering him help.
“People from the stores give them to me sometimes too. The stores, they save for me too,” Lee said. “When I’m passing by, they say, ‘Hi, Lee, here’s some cans. It’s very good. That’s how I see it; very good.”
Collecting cans and bottles has become second nature for Lee. He said you can’t go anywhere sitting down and that one must work to eat. Lee believes if it wasn’t cans and bottles, it would be something else.
“Why stop? I do it every day. When I come to work, I have to pick up the trash. That’s part of my work. So, I pick up the cans. I will never stop. I will never stop,” Lee promised.
In the exhibit in the food court, the Shoppes at Buckland Hills praised Lee, calling him a “valued member of our team.”
“In addition to his continued efforts to keep The Shoppes at Buckland Hills a safe and clean environment for us all, Mr. Lee has been making a major impact on the environment,” the mall said in the exhibit. “The next time you are throwing away a can or a bottle, please remember to be like Mr. Lee and recycle instead. Together, our efforts can make a difference.”
If you stop by the food court at The Shoppes at Buckland Hills, there is a strong chance you will see Lee hard at work. When it comes to working hard, Lee shared the following advice.
“Hard work pays off. That’s it. Hard work pays off. To sit don’t give you nothing. You do good, and good will follow you. That’s all I know,” Lee said.
The locations of all recycling redemption centers across Connecticut can be found here.
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Dalton Zbierski is a digital content producer and writer at FOX61 News. He can be reached at dzbierski@FOX61.com.
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