Good News from RecycleNOW Philadelphia!

We just learned of some great news in the December newsletter from RecycleNOW Philadelphia!
The following information is a condensed version of the newsletter. You can read the whole thing on the RecycleNOW website.

• The City of Philadelphia has announced a full launch of the Philadelphia Recycling Rewards program in partnership with RecycleBank. Based on the total amount of recycling collected in their neighborhood, residents will earn points that can be redeemed to use at local and national retailers, or donated to non-profits. Residents can also earn points for trash reduction. The program will begin in February of 2010 in North Philadelphia, and will roll out in an additional section of the city each month, making the program citywide by July. Residents can sign up at http://www.phillyrecyclingpays.com/ and register to receive a sticker, to be placed on any bin.
• We also learned that with citywide single stream weekly curbside collection, the city has been able to increase the recycling rate from 7 to 15 percent, with some neighborhoods recycling at close to 30 percent. The increase in material diverted from landfills and incinerators saved the city $4.8 million in tipping fees and kept the program running during the fiscal crisis.
• In addition, the East Coast’s largest composting facility, the Wilmington Organic Recycling Center, just opened. The Wilmington Organic Recycling Center has the ability to divert up to 500 tons of organic material from landfills a day. The proximity of the facility to Philadelphia will make composting as simple as trash collection for many restaurants and businesses that produce a significant amount of food waste. (As for residential compost collection, both Pedal Coop and PhillyCompost provide smaller scale pick-up services for those who want to compost but don’t have the space.)

Thanks to RecycleNOW Philadelphia for all of their hard work — and for sharing the good news!