King County launches inaugural ‘Recycle More Neighborhood Challenge’

Six Renton neighbors will put their trash on a diet

King County’s Solid Waste Division announces the launch of its 2008 “Recycle More. It’s Easy to Do” education campaign with a neighborhood waste-reduction challenge.

Beginning May 29, six Renton neighbors will compete to see how much weight their garbage can lose in one month. King County recycling experts will teach the families how to recycle more at home, including food scraps and food-soiled paper, in order to collectively make a big difference to the environment.

The goal of the contest and campaign is to encourage King County residents to increase their recycling at home, to meet the county’s goal of zero waste by 2030. Waste Management, the waste hauler for the City of Renton, will collect the families’ waste on an alternate schedule to support the waste-reduction challenge.

Although 87 percent of King County residents say they participate in their curbside recycling program, more than half of what ends up in King County’s Cedar Hills Regional Landfill is readily recyclable. Food scraps and food-soiled paper make up more than 30 percent of residential garbage.

“It is wonderful to have Renton serve as a model for the rest of the region,” said Mayor Denis Law. “By taking this challenge this neighborhood is helping our community rethink recycling and remember that residents can make a big difference right from their very own kitchens.”

“Our main goal for this partnership is to focus on education and outreach that will eventually make recycling a daily habit for all residents,” said Sharon Aller, King County program manager for the campaign. “We can all do more to reduce waste to ensure a clean environment for future generations, and we applaud these neighbors for taking the challenge.”

Through research conducted in area homes, King County recycling experts found that most families understood what and how to recycle, but still didn’t recycle some items because it was inconvenient to do so.

“For example, the farther people were from their kitchen or main recycling bin the less likely they were to recycle,” Aller said. “Also, if a container needed to be scraped out before recycling, such as a peanut butter jar, the container usually ended up in the trash.”

Brenda Collons, whose family is participating in the Renton recycling challenge, said she is looking forward to the friendly competition with her neighbors.

“My hope is I can be an example to my kids so they will learn the importance of reducing waste,” Collons said.

The Renton neighborhood challenge is intended to illustrate King County residents can increase their recycling and collectively make a positive impact on the environment by following a few simple steps, including:

· Knowing what recyclables are in the garbage;

· Setting up a convenient recycling location or two at home;

· Involving the entire family in recycling;

· Making an effort to clean out recyclable containers; and

· Adding food waste to yard waste bins (in select cities).

For more information about recycling in King County, visit www.metrokc.gov/recyclemore.

Related Information

Recycle More. It's Easy to Do.

What do I do with ....?

King County Solid Waste