Thirty years before the curbside recycling movement, Stephanie Collins-Rankin remembers diving into large containers at the dump to sort and pick out items that could be recycled.

“I was about ten years old ... We’d sort and organize glass, tin, cardboard, newspaper … even the papers'' off bottles, she said. "It was a hobby and a borderline necessity.”

Since then, Collins-Rankin dedicated her life to recycling. She was recently elected for a two-year term on the MassRecycle board.

Through this position, Collins-Rankin said she hopes to educate and encourage others to do their part in recycling.

“It’s a trend that will last,” she said. Special emphasis will be placed on working to recycle those hard-to-recycle items, she said.

Collins-Ranking is also the secretary of the executive committee, works at Metech and is an active member of Grafton’s Recycling Committee. She also played a role in initiating Styrofoam and electronic waste recycling days in Grafton.

Collins-Rankin has also helped at events to prevent Styrofoam waste, recycling between 400 to 1,000 pounds of Styrofoam.

“As I became older, recycling became a part of my life,” she said. “As an adult, you look at the bigger picture.”

Collins-Rankin said the big question is how to reach out and show communities how they can benefit from recycling. She is also working to inspire municipality involvement in recycling and increase the membership base

“I give a pat-on-the-back for Grafton'' for its work with recycling, she said.

For more information, visit: http://www.town.grafton.ma.us/Public_Documents/GraftonMA_Committees/Recycling%20Committee/index_recycling

Check back tomorrow for her top tips on how residents can recycle.