Columbus Celebrates One Year of Residential Recycling
MEDIA RELEASE
For Immediate Release
June 25, 2013
For
More Information:
Tyneisha Harden, Mayor’s Office, 645-2425
Erin Miller, Environmental Steward, 645-0815
John Ivanic, (614) 645-6798
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Columbus Celebrates One Year of Residential Recycling
June marks the one-year anniversary of the City’s recycling
program, RecyColumbus, and the evidence shows that residents are embracing it
in a big way. From June 2012 to May 2013, Columbus residents recycled more than
22,000 tons of materials, saving landfill space and $1.24 million in landfill
disposal fees. Plus a recent house participation count conducted from April 8
through April 12 showed that 74% of eligible homes participated in the program.
“We are pleased that so many of our residents are
recycling,” said Columbus Mayor Michael B. Coleman. “This is a program that is
paying dividends for our environment. It’s saving resources, reusing materials
rather than burying them, creating/retaining jobs and saving the City money in
landfill fees.”
“RecyColumbus reaffirms this City’s commitment to doing
everything we can to become the most environmentally friendly community
possible,” said Eileen Y. Paley, chair of the Public Service and Transportation
Committee. “This program has had a positive impact on our neighborhoods and
residents should be proud of what we have accomplished in the first year.”
To help continue boosting its recycling rates, the City is
partnering with the Carton Council to initiate a public awareness campaign to
encourage residents to recycle their food and beverage cartons. The Carton Council, a collaborative of carton
manufacturers committed to expanding carton recycling in the United States, has
committed resources to launch this campaign to reinforce the message that milk,
juice, soup and other cartons can and should be recycled in Columbus. The campaign will include advertisements on
television, local community newspapers and billboards, along with community
outreach efforts.
RecyColumbus launched on the west side and parts of
northwest Columbus on June 4, 2012.
Neighborhoods were added throughout the year, with all communities
participating by February 1, 2013. Columbus residents living in single-family
homes or in buildings with four units or less that are not part of a complex
are eligible for this convenient and easy-to-use city service. The City is
currently working to expand recycling to multi-family homes, apartments and
condominiums.
To help the City improve the program, residents are invited
to take a survey, available online at RecycleColumbus.org
For residents who need more cart space, the City suggests
collapsing boxes, juice and milk cartons, and crushing cans. A second cart can
also be purchased for $40, which includes home delivery. Visit RecycleColumbus.org for details.
Rumpke collects and sorts the recyclables at its recycling
facility in Columbus. According to Rumpke, residents have been recycling the
correct materials and cart contamination is low.
Items recycled in Columbus become new aluminum cans, cereal
boxes, newspaper, construction parts, appliances, auto parts, fiberglass
insulation and high strength plastic strapping, among other products.
While Columbus is off to a great first-year start, Mayor
Coleman challenged residents to step up their recycling. “Sixty percent of
materials buried in landfills can be recycled and made into other products –
saving natural resources,” he said.
“It’s easy to make a difference. For example, recycling one aluminum can
saves enough energy to run a TV for three hours. “
In recognition of the success of its recycling program,
Columbus was named Green City of the Year in March at a ceremony in Chicago,
presented by Waste & Recycling News, beating other markets like Atlanta and
San Francisco.
RecyColumbus is a program of the City of Columbus Department
of Public Service. Visit www.RecycleColumbus.org to learn more about collection
days, and what to put in the cart. Residents can also email [email protected] or
call 645-3111. Connect online at: Facebook.com/ ColumbusPublicService and
twitter.com/ColumbusDPS or search for #RecycleColumbus.
About the Carton Council
The Carton Council is a group of carton manufacturers united
to deliver long-term collaborative solutions in order to divert valuable
cartons from the landfill. The members of the Carton Council are Elopak,
Evergreen Packaging, SIG/SIG Combibloc and Tetra Pak. They are working with
local government officials, recycling facilities, paper mills and communities
across the United States to build a robust system to recycle liquid food and
beverage carton packages. Cartons have some of the lowest environmental impacts
within the packaging industry, and the Carton Council seeks to reduce the
impact further by expanding recycling programs across the country and further
improving the environmental performance of cartons. This includes milk and
juice cartons found in the refrigerated case, or cartons merchandised on
nonrefrigerated shelves, containing products such as juice, soy, broth, soup,
wine and meal replacement beverages. As of June 2013, the Carton Council's
Carton Recycling Access Campaign has resulting in increasing the number of
households with access to carton recycling from 18 percent to approximately 44
percent. Today, over 51 million households across the country can now recycle
their cartons.
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