When it comes to being a member of the Huntsville Lions Club, Noah Speer is definitely a team player. He is different than most players, however, who seemingly always repeat the chorus of, “Put me in, Coach!” When it’s gametime, Noah proudly says, “Bench me!”
Noah and his wife Patricia (Pat) head up the Huntsville Lions Club Bench Recycling Project. To date, the program has resulted in the recycling and conversion of over 2 ½ tons of stretchable plastic into 10 beautiful benches which the Club has placed around the community. Noah and Pat shared how the program works and how it all began.
“We got started here in late 2018,” said Noah. “We had read an article in Lion magazine about a club in Washington state who was collecting stretchable plastic and sending it to TREX, a corporation that makes a building product from wood fiber and plastic. They take the plastic, wash it, shred it, heat it up, and spin it out into pellets. They then use another process to combine the fiber and plastic into a board—for decking materials, lawn furniture, and such. TREX has a program where they will accept the recycled plastic and donate a bench, which they ship to our Club, when the target collection amount is reached.
We shared information about the program with club members here, and they thought it would be a good local project. My wife Pat is chair of the project, but I do most of the legwork on it.”
The Club gathers plastic from donation sites, and members sort through it to remove anything that doesn’t meet donation criteria. They then bag the plastic and take it to our local Home Depot, who ships the plastic to TREX with their own recyclable plastic waste (think shrink wrap from all those pallets). The Lions Club marks and tracks their submissions, and TREX documents the amounts upon receipt. “Home Depot has been a great partner in the project, and we appreciate their help very much,” said Noah.
Once they got the project rolling, the Lions were collecting enough plastic for two benches per year. As word spread and more donations came in, the Lions are now partnering in the project with First Presbyterian Youth Group, as well as the Christian Community Construction Team, a local nonprofit. In 2023, the groups paced 500 pounds of plastic, enough for one bench, collected every 4 months. However, in November 2023, TREX increased the target from 500 pounds for a bench to 1000 pounds for a bench. Noah and Pat hope to increase collections so they don’t lose pace.
The 10 benches placed to date are located at: Kate Barr Ross Park, the skate park, Eastham-Thomason Park, Hospitality House, Stewart Elementary School, First Presbyterian Church, Huntsville State Park, 12th & University (on the square), and two on Veterans Memorial.
Local collection points include: VeraBank, First Financial Bank, Prosperity Bank (New Waverly), Snap Fitness, First Christian Church, First Presbyterian Church, and Noah’s shop at 2013 Sycamore. Businesses who regularly donate include MRC-Creekside, Gina Tees, Huntsville Farm Supply, and the members of the Chamber of Commerce Thursday Morning Leads Group.
With the local Club’s success, other Lions Clubs in the area are taking notice. Pat did a presentation on the local project in Cy-Fair. Since that time, clubs in Cy-Fair, Magnolia, and Tomball have all begun their own bench projects.
Said Pat, “One of the advantages of the benches that isn’t apparent until you stop and think about it that we did NOT put all that plastic in the garbage to go into a landfill. The city recycling program does not accept that type of plastic. There’s currently no other way locally to dispose of it, so GIVE IT TO US…please.”
Noah hopes to see collections continue to grow. “There is a threshold you reach where TREX will actually begin paying you for the amount collected,” he said. “I would love to see us grow to that level of support from the community.”
From Pat Speer:
The Huntsville Lions Club meets on Thursdays at noon in the meeting room at Grand Buffet in Huntsville. You are welcome to come visit anytime. Our service projects include the Coats for Kids program (we provided coats for 840 children this year), the Annual Christmas Parade, the Downtown Flag Project, and the Bench/Plastic Recycling Project. We have also provided meals for our emergency responders, supplies for homeless students in our schools, and eyeglasses for needy students. We collect used eyeglasses to be refurbished and distributed as needed and provide scholarships for our local seniors. Statewide, we support the Texas Lions Camp in Kerrville, which provides a summer camp experience for children with physical disabilities, Down syndrome or type I diabetes from across Texas.
We’re looking for members who want to do service in the community. The Lions Club motto is, “WE SERVE!”
For more information, visit e-clubhouse.org/sites/huntsvilletx
Postcards Magazine
936-293-1188
PO Box 690
Huntsville, TX 77342
