[GreenYes] more on RecycleBank

[Alan Muller <amuller@no.address>]

For Immediate 
Release                                                                Contact:


Thursday, February 15, 
2007 
John Rago


City Communications and Policy Development Director

                                                                                                                 302.420.7928 
(cell)
                                                                                                                 <mailto:jrago@no.address>jrago@no.address 




Mayor Baker Announces Plan for Citywide Curbside Recycling

Says City?s Successful Pilot Recycling Program 
Indicates Wilmington is Ready to Lead the State 
Into a New Era of Trash Disposal that is 
Environmentally and Fiscally Responsible

Wilmington Mayor James M. Baker today announced 
the City Administration?s decision to expand 
curbside recycling Citywide beginning next month. 
The Mayor said the City?s six-month pilot 
recycling program conducted in six geographic 
areas of Wilmington since June of 2006 indicates 
that Wilmingtonians understand and appreciate the 
environmental and fiscal benefits of recycling 
and are ready to lead Delaware into a new era of trash disposal.

?I am extremely proud of the thousands of 
residents in the pilot recycling program who have 
produced a 35% diversion rate meaning that more 
than two million pounds of trash that we would 
have normally deposited in the landfill have been 
diverted to recycling,? said Mayor Baker. ?The 
6,800 households that have been recycling since 
last summer have proven to me and many others who 
have been monitoring this effort that we are 
ready to recycle in Wilmington and will produce 
even better results with a citywide program.?

The Mayor said another 17,700 households will be 
added to the voluntary program during the months 
of March, April and May as recycling is 
introduced Citywide for a total of 24,500 
households. Wilmington?s program is managed by 
Public Works Commissioner Kash Srinivasan and 
Public Works Operations Director Al Ballard under 
a contractual arrangement with RecycleBank, a 
Philadelphia-based recycling company. Based on 
suggestions from citizens and the City?s Clean 
Wilmington Committee, Mayor Baker said the color 
of the bins used for Citywide recycling will now 
be burgundy in color as opposed to the blue bins used in the pilot program.

Mayor Baker said RecycleBank offers two unique 
and attractive features that contributed to the 
pilot?s success and convinced him that a citywide 
program will also be successful. The first is 
single-stream recycling, meaning that recyclable 
materials such as paper, plastic, glass, tin, and 
aluminum can be placed in one recycle bin without 
separating the materials. The second feature is a 
financial rewards program called RecycleBank 
Dollars that are credited to the RecycleBank 
accounts of individual households based on the 
amount of materials that are recycled. Citizens 
can earn as much as $35.00 a month that can be 
redeemed at any of the more than 100 area 
businesses that have signed up as RecycleBank partners.

Mayor Baker today joined with the Clean 
Wilmington Committee and the chief legislative 
sponsor of the City?s recycling program, At-Large 
Council Member Charles ?Bud? Freel, to ask for 
City Council?s approval tonight of an ordinance 
to amend an agreement to with RecycleBank to 
provide Citywide recycling services for the next 
five years. The amendment reflects recycling 
performance achieved during the pilot phase of 
the program in two ways­limiting the yearly fee 
of $2.00 per household each month to 
participating households, and modifying the 
guarantee provisions in the agreement to reflect 
diversion rates achieved in the pilot. At the 
current diversion rate of 35%, the City expects 
to spend no more than $150,000 more for Citywide 
recycling than the current $5 million that is 
budgeted per year for total trash removal. As the 
diversion rate approaches 50%, the City will 
?break-even? and spend no more than it currently 
budgets for trash removal. Mayor Baker said 
because trash disposal is an ongoing required 
service and required expense, he would much 
prefer that the City spend its money with 
RecycleBank instead of paying to dispose of its 
trash in the Cherry Island Landfill.

On March 19 and 20, recycling will begin in six 
geographic areas east and west of Interstate 95, 
including Westmorland, Wawaset Heights, Wawaset 
Park, 4th and Greenhill area, part of The Flats, 
the Triangle Neighborhood, a portion of the 9th 
Ward, a portion of the Highlands, Southbridge, 
Union Park Gardens, a portion of Canby Park and Bayard Square.

On April 16 and 17, recycling will begin in six 
more geographic areas on either side of the 
interstate, including the remainder of the 
Highlands, the remainder of 40 Acres, Trinity 
Vicinity, Mid-Town Brandywine, Happy Valley, part 
of Delaware Avenue, Brandywine Hills, Cool 
Spring, West Hill, part of Little Italy, Harlan and the remainder of 9th Ward.

On May 14 and 15, recycling will begin in the 
last six geographic areas of the City, which 
includes Hedgeville, Eastlawn, Prices Run, the 
remainder of Little Italy, the remainder of The 
Flats, Riverside, Eastlake, Brandywine Village 
and Lower Brandywine Village, and the remainder of Hilltop.

Monday will remain as the recycle collection day 
for households east of the interstate, and 
Tuesdays will be the collection day for 
communities west of the interstate. Regular trash 
collection days would remain the same on 
Thursdays for homes east of the interstate and on 
Fridays west of the interstate.

Mayor Baker today thanked Secretary John Hughes 
and others officials from the Delaware Department 
of Natural Resources and Environmental Control 
(DNREC) for what he said has been ?their 
tremendous support? for Wilmington?s recycling 
efforts. Deputy Secretary David Small was with 
the Mayor today for the announcement of Citywide 
recycling. "DNREC commends Wilmington for its 
pioneering efforts in establishing a citywide 
recycling program with RecycleBank," said Deputy 
Secretary Small. "Wilmington has set the standard 
and is now leading the way for incentive based, 
single stream curbside recycling in Delaware."
Mayor Baker today also thanked RecycleBank for 
its efforts at making Wilmington one of the 
leading cities in the country in terms of 
measurable results from recycling. RecycleBank 
Chief Operating Office Scott Lamb said the 
company is very pleased to have been able to 
bring its incentive-based recycling program to 
the residents of Wilmington. ?Mayor Baker, his 
staff and Wilmington City Council are to be 
commended for their forward thinking in adopting 
a program that could eventually reduce trash 
volumes to the landfill by 50%, making Wilmington 
the first Northeast City to achieve such 
results,? said Lamb. ?As it is, Wilmington?s 
successful pilot has pushed the City into a 
leadership role concerning recycling and we 
expect even greater results in Wilmington in the years ahead.?

Lamb said RecycleBank was launched with the goal 
of preserving the environment and demonstrating 
that businesses can build brand value with 
corporate citizenship by providing communities 
with a cost effective and environmentally 
conscious solution to the rising cost of waste 
collection. He said by aligning the goals of the 
private sector with the goals of the public 
sector, RecycleBank creates sustainable value 
because households, businesses, communities and 
the environment all reap the benefits of green, 
sustainable business practices.  More information 
on the company is available at 
<http://www.recyclebank.com/>www.recyclebank.com.

Participating recycle business sponsors include 
the Washington Street Ale House, Wilmington Blue 
Rocks, Happy Harry?s, Grotto Pizza, Iron Hill 
Brewery & Restaurant, Kelly?s Logan House, Happy 
Dog Healthy Dog, ACME, Riverfront Market, Rite 
Aid, FedEx Kinko?s, Bed Bath and Beyond, Regal 
Cinemas, and Starbucks. RecycleBank Dollars can 
be redeemed that these and other RecycleBank partner locations.

Recyclable materials include newspaper, mixed 
paper, white paper envelopes, cardboard, junk 
mail, magazines, telephone books, cereal boxes, 
detergent containers, plastic containers #1 and 
#2, plastic milk containers, aluminum cans, steel 
cans, tin cans, empty aerosol cans, glass bottles 
and jars. More information about curbside 
recycling is available at the RecycleBank website 
at <http://www.recyclebank.com/>www.recyclebank.com


###

John Rago
Director of Communications and Policy Development for Mayor James M. Baker
302.576.2109 (office)
302.420.7928 (cell)



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