In a press release issued today after a City Hall event, Hartford Mayor Perez stated that the single-stream recycling pilot underway in targeted areas of the city has more than doubled recycling tonnage. The program was launched in May.

“After 25 weeks of operation,” Perez said, “Hartford’s recycling tonnage has more than doubled in the participating households, going from eight tons per week to 17 tons per week of recyclable materials. More households have also increased the variety of items they are recycling as a result of educational efforts to inform citizens about what can be placed in the blue cart.”

The mayor asserted the city has saved about $30,000 by avoiding landfill disposal fees. Read the rest of today’s release below. The pilot is expected to continue through May, at which point its progress will be more thoroughly assessed. An interim report is said to be available at the city’s DPW Web page. RecycleBank also has a Hartford page set up for information-seekers.

In addition, the city has launched a Waste and Recycling Academy to educate residents, community groups, businesses, and landlords on city guidelines for waste disposal. Read that release at the bottom of the post.

City of Hartford
Mayor Perez and National Recycling Coalition Announce Promising Improvements in Recycling Pilot

(November 14, 2008) Mayor Eddie A. Perez today announced promising early results of Hartford’s single-stream recycling pilot program “Go Green Use Blue.” The pilot program was instituted on May 19 along selected recycling collection routes in the City.

As part of the program, approximately 4,500 households were provided 64-gallon carts to replace existing 14- and 18-gallon bins. All recyclable materials can be placed into the carts without separation, a process known as single-stream recycling.

In addition, households were given the opportunity to establish accounts with recycling rewards program, RecycleBank, to receive reward points for each pound of materials placed in the cart. Points can be used to redeem goods and services at a number of local retail stores. The City and RecycleBank also provided an extensive, coordinated campaign to educate households about the program.

“So far, we are making the grade,” said Mayor Perez in a classroom-like atmosphere to help promote education and awareness of recycling and environmental efforts. “As our nation celebrates America Recycles Day on November 15, I am especially pleased to announce that our first quarter report card for ‘Go Green Use Blue’ looks encouraging. After 25 weeks of operation, Hartford’s recycling tonnage has more than doubled in the participating households—going from 8 tons per week to 17 tons per week of recyclable materials. More households have also increased the variety of items they are recycling as a result of educational efforts to inform citizens about what can be placed in the blue cart.”

Hartford has already saved approximately $30,000 by avoiding landfill disposal fees for each ton of material diverted from incineration at the local Connecticut Resource Recovery Authority facility. The City also receives a rebate from CRRA of $10 per ton ($4,160 in revenue) for the value of the recycled materials.

“The City realizes about $72 in savings for each ton of material that we can take to the recycling facility plus a $10 per ton rebate,” said Clarence Corbin, Director of the Department of Public Works. “This is good for the community, good for the environment, and makes good business sense.”

“This program has been an unexpected bonus with the downturn of the economy, said Mayor Perez. “It not only provides a financial incentive for families, but an economic boost for our local businesses.”

The Hartford Recycling Pilot is a partnership between the National Recycling Coalition (NRC) and the City to demonstrate the effectiveness of best recycling management practices. Funding for the project was provided by the National Recycling Partnership (NRP), a coalition of beverage companies, grocers and grocery manufacturers, and the NRC to promote the implementation of such practices in all communities.

“We are especially pleased to see the combination of convenience, incentives, and targeted and cohesive education and outreach programs have such a significant impact on household participation and the resulting increases in volumes,” said Ed Skernolis, Executive Director of the NRC. “We also recognize that, instrumental in the success of any program such as this, is the leadership starting with the Mayor’s Office, right down to the enthusiasm of the collection workers who see first hand the positive results of new methods.”

The Recycling Pilot is scheduled to run until May 2009, at which time NRC and the City will provide a more comprehensive analysis of program performance. In the meantime, a city-wide expansion of the single-stream program is under consideration. CRRA also recently converted its recycling facility to accept single-stream materials from its member communities. A copy of the interim report, prepared by the NRC and the City of Hartford, is available online at [hartford.gov/Public_Works] and on the NRC Web Site at nrc-recycle.org.

About the National Recycling Partnership

The National Recycling Partnership (NRP) is a coalition committed to improving recycling programs in the United States and reinvigorating recycling among consumers. Under the direction of the National Recycling Coalition (NRC), grocery, food and beverage producers and retailers have engaged in major initiatives to maximize the potential of recycling programs nationwide. Members of the NRP include the American Beverage Association, the Grocery Manufacturers Association, the International Bottled Water Association, and the Food Marketing Institute. For the Hartford Recycling Pilot, additional support was provided by local retailers WalMart, Stop&Shop, SuperValu, Food Lion, and the Connecticut Food Association.

About the National Recycling Coalition

The National Recycling Coalition, located in Washington, DC, is a 5,500 member organization of diverse interests committed to enhancing materials recovery through recycling as part of an environmentally and economically sustainable future. NRC members include local citizen activists and community recycling managers, state officials, service providers and consultants, sector trade association, and environmental leaders from small businesses to international corporations.

City of Hartford
Waste and Recycling Academy Focus on Education

(November 14, 2008) Hartford Mayor Eddie A. Perez and the City’s Department of Public Works are pleased to announce the new Waste and Recycling Academy. The purpose is to educate people on Hartford’s city codes and guidelines in regards to trash, recycling, bulky waste, and scrap metal and how to handle things such as household hazardous waste and electronic waste.

Mayor Perez says, “We all need to be on the same page when it comes to proper disposal. Education is the key. This classroom effort will benefit residents in all of our neighborhoods so that people can correct past mistakes and also prevent those mistakes from happening in the first place.”

A classroom set-up will consist of:

1. Residents who received warnings and citations for improperly putting out their waste at the curb
2. Community groups, small business, and non-profit organizations wanting to learn proper disposal practices according to the City’s policies and procedures
3. Landlords and tenants who want to comply with proper disposal practices

The Department of Public Works used to have a hearing format for individual consultations. The process will change to a classroom instruction format as of January 2009.

Clarence Corbin, Director of Public Works says, “Approximately 20 to 30 people will be in one class at one time. This change is to save time, energy, resources, and money and will more effectively communicate accurate information.”

The classes will be held at 523 Main Street in downtown Hartford.

This entry was posted on Friday, November 14th, 2008 at 12:49 pm and is filed under City corridors, Development, Education, Finance, Hartford, Litter, Quality of life, Studies and reports, Trash collection, Urban Compass.