M a r c h 1 6 , 2 0 2 3 | A p p e n M e d i a . c o m | A n A p p e n M e d i a G r o u p P u b l i c a t i o n | 5 0 ¢ | Vo l u m e 4 1 , N o . 1 1
Green Cell sells society on recycling
Roswell officials conduct briefing on current issues
Volunteers construct community composter By AMBER PERRY amber@appenmedia.com
By DELANEY TARR delaney@appenmedia.com ROSWELL, Ga. —The Roswell City Council hosted a workshop March 10 at Roswell River Landing, where the council fielded questions from two reporters in attendance. On March 8 a city email announced the meeting was cancelled. Later that day, a city communications staffer said the meeting was back on. The published agenda for the meeting was completely blank except for the names of the mayor and City Council, the location and the scheduled time frame. Mayor Kurt Wilson opened the three-hour meeting at 8 a.m. The City Council was in attendance, as well as Director of Recreation, Parks and Cultural Affairs Jeffrey Leatherman. Appen Media was also in attendance. Wilson said the goal of the workshop was to “continue to follow up” after the Roswell City Council and staff
See BRIEFING, Page 6
with conditions, while the Planning Commission recommended the request be denied. The plot is mostly undeveloped with a single home on the site. Residents said the space has a dirt road many people
ALPHARETTA, Ga. — Green Cell, the Alpharetta-based nonprofit, is endearingly scrappy, but it packs a punch with more than 100 volunteers. The group leads a number of eco-conscious projects that service other cities in Fulton County, like Johns Creek, as well as Forsyth and Gwinnett counties. Green Cell is also looking to engage communities outside of the state by setting up utensil banks in Charlotte and one in Texas. The project loans coolers and utensils for low-waste gatherings. By loaning utensils in 2022, Pankaj Rajankar said more than 100,000 single-use utensils were eliminated. Rajankar, who co-founded Green Cell in 2018 with Sandesh Shinde, said the idea for Green Cell started with a well-liked Facebook post spreading environmental awareness. “My comment on that was, ‘These likes don’t matter,’” Rajankar said. He said everybody points a finger and asks others to change their habits, yet they hold a plastic bottle or don’t own reusable grocery bags. “Unless all human beings change
See DENSITY, Page 17
See RECYCLING, Page 18
DELANEY TARR/PROVIDED
Roswell City Council members discuss traffic calming solutions on Oxbo Road on March 10 directly after a three-hour long Q&Astyle workshop with local reporters.
Roswell denies request for greater residential density By DELANEY TARR delaney@appenmedia.com ROSWELL, Ga. — Red-shirted residents packed the chamber at City Hall on March 13 to watch the Roswell City Council deny a rezoning request that would increase density on a 5.7-acre
parcel at 8800 Eves Circle. The so-called “Roswell red shirts” had gathered at the Feb. 13 City Council meeting to oppose the rezoning request when the developers asked that the agenda item be deferred until March. Roswell city staff had recommended approval of the rezoning request