Recycling program leads to Eagle Scout honor

Matthew Saitta of the Boy Scout Troop No. 507 was given his Eagle Scout Award for a service project he completed at a ceremony held for him on June 26 at St. Anthony’s Hall in Westbury.
   
Troop 507 is made up of eight boys from the East Meadow School District community. Saitta, 18, was given his Eagle Scout Award for a service project he did for St. Brigid's R.C. Church, where he is a member and a youth minister.

Saitta reached out to different organizations when trying to figure out what type of service project he wanted to do, but ultimately, he chose to do a project for the community that means the most to him.
   

“I knew I wanted to do a service project for my community, and the community closest to me is my church,” he says.
   
St. Brigid's holds many events throughout the year, and Saitta noticed that all of the recyclables from the events the church hosted would pile up and not get recycled. The church did not have a place to put the recyclables, so Saitta decided to build two sheds that would hold the items.
   
Saitta raised $1,300 by going door to door to different businesses in order to start his project. Once he earned the money, he built one shed behind the rectory and one behind the office of the church. Both of the sheds are 14 feet long and 5 feet wide. They are structured for anyone to get into the shed, complete with front doors and a roof.  He even took the time to place the recyclables in the proper place with the help of the Village of Westbury. Saitta then arranged for the trucks to come right to the sheds for pick-up.
    
Thanks to Saitta, St. Brigid's Church went from having no room for recyclables to having two large sheds built for that purpose.