Municipal Recycling

The Georgia Solid Waste Trust Fund has announced that the cities of Savannah and Griffin and the counties of Bulloch and Valdosta-Lowndes will receive a total of $2.2 million in state grant money to go toward implementing four regional recycling collection programs.

"The innovation and partnerships proposed in the state’s recycling strategy have established Georgia as one of the nation’s newly recognized recycling leaders," Randy Hartmann,
Department of Community Affairs (DCA), Environmental Programs director, says.

He adds,"We are especially pleased that these projects will serve our urban and rural areas, make it easier for Georgians to recycle, conserve our resources and leverage public and private funds."

Georgia’s recycling strategy, which looks to develop public-private recycling partnerships and a business model approach to recycling, has drawn the attention of Curbside Value Partnership, an organization funded by members of the Aluminum Association and Can Manufacturer’s Institute focused on increasing residential curbside recycling programs and measuring the growth of these programs as a way to increase the sustainability of municipal recycling efforts.

The recycling hubs are expected to boost single-stream collections beyond metro-Atlanta and to increase the focus on consuming recovered materials by industries in Georgia.

The four recipients of the grant money were selected based upon their efforts to significantly reduce the amount of recyclables being disposed and leverage support for their efforts.

Under this program, the applicants have estimated that local partners largely in the private sector will contribute almost $5 million in matching funds, while local government will match an additional $3 million in funds. Each of the applicants was also selected based upon its strong mix of urban and rural areas and curbside and drop-off recycling programs.

The DCA says the private-public partnerships in these communities provide a balanced approach to the recycling hub concept and may eventually serve as statewide collection points to support carpet recycling through a partnership with Shaw Industries.

The city council for New York City has introduced legislation that would require the recycling of plastic bags at retail stores throughout the city. Council Speaker Christine Quinn and several other council members introduced the bill in late October.

The bill would apply to any store in New York City that occupies 5,000 or more square feet and provides plastic carryout bags to consumers.

"If we want to get serious about improving our environment, we need to look at major sources of non bio-degradable waste," Quinn says. "This legislation will remove a significant number of bags from our waste stream, before they end up polluting our soil and water. It will also reduce the number of new bags produced from scratch, cutting down on the unnecessary use of oil that pollutes our air and creates greenhouse gases," she adds.

The legislation would require retailers to:

• Establish an in-store recycling program, providing a collection bin for plastic carryout bags in a visible location near the entrance;

• Stock only plastic bags printed with the sentence, "Please return this bag to a participating store for recycling," in letters at least 3 inches in height;

• Make available for purchase reusable bags as an alternative to plastic or paper bags; and

• Submit annual reports to the Department of Sanitation on the amount of plastic bags that are collected, transported and recycled and the costs of these efforts as well as any additional information that might be required by the commissioner.

Plastic bag legislation in other states and municipalities has generally been more limited in scope. The recent ban on plastic bags in San Francisco affects approximately 50 businesses throughout the city, while the legislation proposed in New York City would affect an estimated 700-plus food stores as well as many other retailers.

RecycleBank, based in Philadelphia, has completed its city-wide service rollout to Wilmington, Del., and the city has said that it has already seen a significant increase in recycling rates.

RecycleBank has also announced that it is expanding its services throughout New England.

Wilmington says it selected the RecycleBank program as a solution to the rising cost of landfill fees and to remedy the city’s lack of curbside recycling.

The RecycleBank program in Wilmington began with a six-month pilot program that serviced 6,000 homes in six different neighborhoods.

RecycleBank’s expansion into New England follows the company’s plan to grow throughout the country, which is being fueled in part by a $2 million investment from Coca-Cola. RecycleBank will launch service to additional households in upstate New York and Vermont within the next few months.

The company also has announced that Shaw’s Supermarkets has joined the growing list of retailers that are offering rewards to area residents who recycle through RecycleBank.

More than 300 local and national retailers have joined RecycleBank as rewards partners.

More information is available online at the company’s Web site www.recyclebank.com.  

With Pennsylvania’s investment of $5.5 million, 267 municipal recycling programs are expanding across the state, according to Gov. Edward G. Rendell.

Rendell says that as more reusable materials are diverted from landfills, Pennsylvanians are helping to conserve energy and natural resources, protect the environment and create new economic opportunities in manufacturing.

Recycling performance grants reward communities based on the amount of recyclable materials collected.

Pennsylvania is home to more than 3,200 recycling and re-use businesses and organizations that generate more than $18 billion in gross annual sales. Pennsylvania’s recycling efforts save energy, reduce air pollution and limit the need for virgin materials in manufacturing.

"As these programs continue to grow, communities and consumers will see even more benefits in the form of a cleaner environment, financial savings and a better quality of life," Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Secretary Kathleen A. McGinty says.

The Pennsylvania DEP has approved 552 of the 800 performance grant applications received for calendar year 2005.

More information is available at www.depweb.state.pa.us, keyword, "Recycling Grants."