Waste Management, the garbage, recycling, and yard/food waste hauler for Wallingford, is launching its six month Recycling Challenge campaign this week.
All Seattle neighborhoods serviced by Waste Management will compete against each other for a $50,000 prize. The community that reduces the most residential garbage, by weight, will receive a $50,000 grant for a “Main Street” neighborhood improvement project.
To track each community’s progress, Waste Management will compare the percent change in garbage, recycling and food and yard waste from October 2011- March 2012, using 2010 data as the baseline. The six-month tracking period officially began Monday, October 3rd. This data will soon be made available on a special Waste Management web site.
Note that this challenge is for residences only, not businesses, and for those residences that do not use dumpsters for their garbage and recycling.
Even so, Colleen Kurke, president of the Wallingford Chamber, says: “Wallingford Chamber is 100% behind this challenge even though businesses are not a part of it. We support sustainability and will do our part to support the neighborhood as we WIN this challenge!”
Wallyhood will be featuring weekly tips on how to get your unwanted stuff out of the garbage and to a better place.
Any ideas, comments, tips, post here or send to Barb Burrill at [email protected]
Discover more from Wallyhood
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
Oh, it’s on!
So is this tiered? Rewarded for throwing away LESS and recycling and “Clean Greening” MORE?
Yes, it is tiered in that way.
My understanding is that our main goal is to decrease the percentage of total waste collected as garbage, by weight. The second is to increase the percentage of total waste collected as recycling and yard waste, also by weight.
We’ll learn more specifics about the calculations once the Recycling Challenge web site is made public. We also expect some Waste Management materials about the program in the next week or so.
It’s genius really. Waste Management knows that increasing the number of recyclables and decreasing garbage weight increases their profit. They hold a contest to make us feel nifty. We not only feel nifty, but the earth actually does become a better place. Who says Green can’t be profitable? Of course, your utility rates will still go up next year. Sorry – I only said you’d feel nifty.
I learned a little of Waste Management’s bureaucratic BS this week. We had less garbage and more recycle this week, so I put our extra recycle in an extra can. That’s a NO-NO! It has to be laid loose next to your primary can or in cardboard boxes. Containing it in an extra can as to keep the crows out isn’t permissible.
Steve
So who decides what the improvement is? I’d love to see more whimsical painted intersections, and if one of them happened to be at 47th and 2nd, so much the better :-).
The Wallingford Neighborhood Office is the sponsor of the challenge in Wallingford, so the decision about how to decide (!) would probably come from that body. I would hope that everyone in the neighborhood would be allowed to propose project ideas.
That’s only IF our route wins. Still 4 months to go. Keep recycling and filling up those yard waste carts!
Re: #7 and #8: How about recommending to the Wallingford Neighborhood Office to donate proceeds? Food banks/winter clothing for homeless/books/donate to PSE to
help heat needy peoples’ homes, you catch the drift…
Waste Management, the sponsor of the contest, says that “grant money will be spent on improvement projects within the winning community – which may include: bike racks, public place recycling containers, hanging flower baskets, park benches, and more!” The improvement project must be “shovel ready” and not require permits.