Potomac Edison employees prepare new utility poles to replace old ones, which are now being recycled. Courtesy photo

SHEPHERDSTOWN — While the Corporation of Shepherdstown has developed a longstanding commitment to caring for the environment, through means such as maintaining its Tree City USA designation and placing recycling receptacles along German Street, many of the companies that serve Shepherdstown residents do not have the same focus.

But on Tuesday afternoon, one of those companies, Potomac Edison electric utility company, announced its decision to take one major step toward helping the environment, by no longer wasting a valuable resource.

“Potomac Edison is launching a sustainability initiative, to recycle and repurpose utility poles in its Maryland and West Virginia service territory,” said Potomac Edison communications representative Will Boye. “At participating service centers, the company will store used utility poles that will be redistributed to other parties – such as farmers, mills, charitable organizations and even employees – for direct reuse. Alternative uses for poles typically include fencing, parking bollards, guide rail posts, landscaping or treated wood construction.”

According to Boye, the company, which is a subsidiary of FirstEnergy Corporation, has previously cut up old utility poles and sent them directly to the landfill. Reusing and recycling the wood will decrease the number of trees needed to be cut down for wood-based projects.

“We are committed to reducing waste and improving our recycling efforts, and this is an exciting opportunity for us to adopt a more environmentally friendly practice and find new uses for secondhand utility poles,” said Linda Moss, president of FirstEnergy’s Maryland operations. “We look forward to full implementation of this program across Potomac Edison’s service territory in 2022.”

Boye went on to explain the details that had to be fleshed out, before enacting this program.

“If a utility pole is no longer fit for use, Potomac Edison will remove any utility hardware from the pole and store it at one of its participating service centers. Each pole, which weigh roughly 50 pounds per cubic foot, must be at least eight feet in length to be part of the reuse program,” Boye said. “When a Potomac Edison service center has collected a full load of approximately 30 poles, the company will work with Blackwood Solutions, a transportation and materials management firm, to pick them up and distribute them for reuse.

“The poles will be delivered at no cost to interested parties who are willing to accept a full load, can be accessed by tractor trailer and are located within a certain distance from the collection sites,” Boye said. “The program is expected to reduce Potomac Edison’s waste stream significantly over time, as most poles weigh between 300 and 4,100 pounds.”

According to Boye, the utility pole recycling program was first piloted in 2020 at Ohio Edison, a FirstEnergy electric subsidiary in Ohio, and also was launched last year in the company’s Mon Power service territory in West Virginia.