Success in San Mateo County!
Residents in the RethinkWaste service area are definitely taking advantage of the new CartSMART weekly Recycle, Compost and Garbage collection services provided by Recology San Mateo County! Residential recycling tonnages are up by 33.5% during the first quarter of 2011 in comparison to the same period last year. Compost has increased by 28.9% for the same period, and just as significantly, garbage has decreased by 19.8%.
The data comes from comparing the tonnages reported in the first quarter reported submitted on April 30, 2011 by Recology San Mateo County, RethinkWaste’s new service provider as of January 1, 2011, against the figures submitted in Allied Waste of San Mateo County’s first quarter 2010 report. Visit Recycling Today’s article for more!
What Does Green Mean To You?
Photo by David McLeish via flickr.com
What is “being green”? Does it mean you dye your hair green or wear green clothes?
Or does it mean you are reducing your environmental footprint? We hope so!
“Being green” can be as simple as turning the water off when you brush your teeth! Are you green when you donate your clothes to a local non-profit? Yes! What if the switch broke on my vacuum cleaner? If I take it to the repair shop to get it fixed? Without a doubt!
Being green doesn’t mean you need to save the world (all at once). It just means doing the small things that collectively can have a huge impact on our planet.
Check out RecycleWorks of San Mateo County’s website for things you can do at home or in the community.
Make Every Day Earth Day! Take the Earth Day 2011 Pledge.
What Does Your Bag Say About You?
Did you know the United States consumes 30 billion plastic bags every year, requiring 12 million barrels of oil? To make matters worse – less than 1% of all plastic bags get recycled! It takes 1,000 years for a plastic bag to decompose in a landfill, and those that don’t make it to a landfill contaminate our oceans and kill hundreds of thousands of marine mammals each year.
Do you bring your own bag when you go shopping? The Bay Area Recycling Outreach Coalition (BayROC) has launched its 2011 Bring Your Own Bag campaign. Check them out for great tips and information.
WASTE ZERO.
Comments Off
Atherton, Belmont and Burlingame Residents – It’s Time for BYOB!
It’s a Compost Giveaway on April 16th!
Atherton, Belmont and Burlingame residents, join Recology for this Compost Giveaway–just in time for Earth Day!
Each resident is welcome to take up to 5 gallons of compost (while supplies last) made from yard trimmings and food scraps to enrich their gardens.
Compost is used as an amendment to enrich soil for lawns, gardens, trees and plants. By applying soil mixed with nutrient rich compost, you’re putting organic nutrients back into the soil, using a non-chemical alternative to fertilizers and giving a healthy boost to your garden.
Saturday, April 16th
Atherton: Holbrook-Palmer Park, 150 Watkins Ave, 9AM-Noon
Belmont: City Hall Parking Lot, One Twin Pines Lane, 8-11AM
Burlingame: Burlingame High School, 420 Carolan Ave, 9AM-Noon
Remember, it’s BYOB! Please bring your own bags/buckets.
Atherton, Belmont and Burlingame residents only. Please bring proof of residence.
RethinkWaste is also partnering with its member agencies for their Spring Compost Giveaway events in April and May.
Find a list of their events here: http://rethinkwaste.org/residents/beyond-cart/community-events/compost-giveaways
Hello Spring!
Got your clean on?
When it comes to cleaning, many of us don’t realize that our day to day lives are loaded with toxic substances that were designed to make life easier. The average home uses 40 pounds of chemicals each year and stores more than 60 hazardous products!
Ironically, many common household cleaning products are actually classified as hazardous waste. Hazardous chemicals endanger the environment by contaminating our groundwater, lakes and oceans. They can also be dangerous to our own health. A study by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) showed that many homes in the U.S. had chemical levels that were 70 times higher than that of the air outside. And 1 in 3 people suffer from allergies, asthma, sinusitis or bronchitis. Reducing synthetic chemicals in the home can greatly reduce symptoms.
Keep reading to learn more about healthier and environmentally responsible alternatives to kick off your spring cleaning!
http://eartheasy.com/live_nontoxic_solutions.htm
Like this:
Want to go really green this St. Patrick’s Day?
Here are five great ideas for a WASTE ZERO party this St. Patrick’s Day.
1. Bring reusable bags when you go shopping for party supplies.
Say no to those plastic bags! Bring a few reusable canvas bags with you when you go to the store. They’re stronger, much easier to use, and don’t take hundreds of years to break down in a landfill.
2. Use reusable or recyclable drinkware and tableware.
Make sure you separate your glass and plastic bottles and aluminum cans for recycling, and use reusable cups and glasses from your kitchen, or buy ones that can be recycled. Remember to look for numbers 1-7 on the bottom of the plastic container. And be sure to avoid polystyrene (Styrofoam) of any kind if possible!
3. Decorating green for the party? Go natural!
Fruits and veggies can make great decorations. Try combining limes, green apples, green bell peppers, and maybe some kiwi in a clear glass vase or bowl for an eye catching center piece. Pick a handful of flowers from your garden for a few different accent vases around the house. Houseplants in attractive containers, especially a shamrock plant, are always a beautiful way to add décor (and clean the air)!
4. Compost, compost, compost!
Got leftovers from the party? Be sure to compost them! We’ll take your chicken bones, stale chips and unfinished spinach dip. And remember to put all those paper cups, plates and napkins in the green Compost cart – NOT the garbage! Called for late night delivery? Toss the greasy pizza box and waxy cardboard containers in there too!
5. Leave the car behind
Take the bus, cab or train if you’re going out. You’ll save on gas, and will be sure of a safe ride home.
Whatever you do for St. Patrick’s Day, Recology wishes you a happy, safe, and green holiday!
Learn to be a Master Composter!
Are you interested in learning to compost in your backyard and garden?
The Master Composter Program offered by San Mateo County is just the thing for you! Classes begin March 5th and are free to San Mateo County residents.
For more information, visit www.RecycleWorks.org or call Jacqueline Rosine at (650) 599-1498.
We love recycling!
It’s times like these that we love our jobs just a little more.
Take a moment to read Vince Ware’s story about his love affair with Betsy…..his kitchen pail.
There are even more ways to learn about the simple ways you can make the world better. Have you played Recycle Slam?
Filmmakers Wanted!
Video Contest!
Amateur videographers/filmmakers are invited to participate in a video contest on the new CartSMART Recycle, Compost and Garbage collection services. We are seeking entries that will help educate and inspire our customers to fully participate in the new services.
Winning videos will be featured on the RethinkWaste web, Facebook and YouTube sites, and may also be used for additional public outreach efforts to promote program participation and recycling habits.
Create a 30-120 second video about the new CartSMART collection services and how they are influencing you in the following categories:
- Recycling
- Composting
- “Re-Think Your Waste”
PRIZES
Individuals/Families:
Grand Prize – iPad
Cash Prize for 1st Place – $250
Cash Prize for Honorable Mention $100
School Organization/Student Groups:
Grand Prize – $1,000
Honorable Mention – $500
**Entries must be postmarked by February 1, 2011
Visit RethinkWaste.org for more information and the entry application.
Sponsored by RethinkWaste, Recology San Mateo County and South Bay Recycling
Recology and RethinkWaste Report New Tonnage Collection Record in Service Area
Recology and RethinkWaste Report Record Tonnage Collection in Service Area
CartSMART Increases Recycling Volumes 56%
SAN CARLOS, CA—Recology San Mateo County, RethinkWaste’s new service provider, today reported record volumes of material being collected in its first week of service to over more than 92,000 residences in the service area. By the close of business on Thursday, roughly 74,300 of those residences will have been serviced with the remaining to occur on Friday.
“We are very excited about the increased recycling volumes we are seeing,” said Kevin McCarthy, Executive Director, RethinkWaste. “The success in recycling experienced thus far exceeds our expectations and is exactly why we created the CartSMART system.”
In the first three days of service, the Company has seen a 78 percent increase in the daily average of organic materials collected and a 31 percent increase in the daily average of recyclable materials collected. The introduction of the CartSMART Program, a three-cart system that allows residents to combine all recyclables into the blue cart without sorting and adds the acceptance of food scraps to the green cart, producing a far easier and more convenient experience for customers.
Recology, which took over the service on Monday, January 3, 2011 from Allied Waste and has been servicing households throughout the 12 Member Agency service area, is addressing a limited amount of service issues attributed to incomplete data provided by the former service provider. The company is asking any customers with previous backyard service or special handling instructions to contact the Company to ensure proper collection.
The Company has added additional customer service representatives to handle increased calls quickly and has added 11 trucks to the service area. Most missed pickups that have arisen are due to changed service schedules and faulty data. Customers who have experienced missed service by 6 pm on their service day should email inquiries to report the condition, including which cart was missed. Any missed service will be picked up within 24 hours of being reported.
“We are very pleased by how things are going thanks to the hard work of our employees,” said Mark Arsenault, Vice President and Group Manager, Recology. “We have successfully serviced more than 97 percent of our customers without issue and we are working through the service issues reported to us and will make all necessary adjustments to ensure that our customers are fully serviced.”
About Recology San Mateo County
Recology San Mateo County was chosen in 2008 by RethinkWaste to provide recycling, compost and garbage collection services for its 12 member agencies. Recology’s roots in recycling go back to 1920 in San Francisco, when garbage men, known then as “scavengers,” actively sought out alternative uses for refuse. Recology is now the largest employee owned company in the solid waste industry, parent to two dozen subsidiaries that provide solid waste resource recovery services to more than 75 communities, and serves more than 660,000 residential and 65,000 commercial customers. Recology recycling facilities serve as national models, and the company is known as a pioneer in waste reduction, often exploring new technologies to facilitate landfill diversion. For more information, please visit www.RecologySanMateoCounty.com.
Formed in 1982, RethinkWaste is a joint powers authority comprised of 12 Member Agencies (Atherton, Belmont, Burlingame, East Palo Alto, Foster City, Hillsborough, Menlo Park, Redwood City, San Carlos, San Mateo, the County of San Mateo and the West Bay Sanitary District) in San Mateo County and is a leader in implementing innovative waste reduction and recycling programs. RethinkWaste also owns and manages the Shoreway facility in San Carlos consisting of a permitted solid waste transfer station and a recycling processing facility. The Agency’s legal name is the South Bayside Waste Management Authority (SBWMA.) For more information on RethinkWaste, please visit our website at www.RethinkWaste.org.
XXX
tulip
rachrecycles
cOLeCo7e
darbyandjoan
make art
slidetozero
wastezerosf
art at the dump
wedmorningpickup
recologysanmateocounty
iheartcompost
Sol
pnwblogger
2 comments