LEWISBURG — Leroy Gilbert said a maple tree serves as his air conditioning during the hottest days he spends working at the Lewisburg Borough Recycling Center.

“I just sit under it and get a nice breeze,” he said.

Serving as the coordinator of the center for the past four years, Gilbert, 66, diligently checks every bin as residents drop off their recyclables — often using a rake and sometimes going to the extent of climbing in the bin himself.

“I’ve found scissors, shoes, pencils, pens,” he says naming a few of the stray finds, but despite the frustration he sometimes might feel, he never gives up on keeping the center clean and regulated.

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“People move here from other states and say they never saw such a clean facility like this one,” he said smiling. “We get good comments.”

He had no experience of recycling before taking the position and was given a one-on-one course with the manager at the Lycoming County Recycling Center before he began.

“I spent two hours with the manager, who explained what they took and what they don’t take,” Gilbert said.

He applied after retiring because he said he hates just sitting around. “I can’t sit around,” he said. “I get fidgety.”

Retiring seven years ago from the Chef Boyardee plant in Milton (now ConAgra) and previously working at Pennsylvania House, Gilbert said he enjoys this job because he’s able to work with community individuals.

“I enjoy it. I love meeting people,” he said. “This is the first I ever worked with the public.”

Aside from recycling, Gilbert spends his time with his family and watches NASCAR racing. Dale Earnhardt Jr. is his favorite racer. He’s been to races in Daytona, Charlotte, Martinsville and Richmond, among others, but would love to some day watch the Talladega race.

He also mows grass for individuals who can’t do it themselves. “I do it mostly for the elderly who still live at home,” he said, “Or widows or single people who don’t have the time.”