Mayor lends a hand: Utah’s newest city got some help with its first official recycling collection early this month, when Mayor Jeff Silvestrini assisted the Wasatch Front Waste & Recycling District in collecting curbside recycling for Millcreek, Utah. The city of about 60,000 residents was incorporated Dec. 28 after a 2015 vote, according to Deseret News.
Another calendar error: Residents in Jacksonville, Fla., received calendars with the wrong recycling pickup dates — for the second year in a row, according to the Florida Times-Union. Republic Services apologized for what it called a typo and is working to distribute corrected calendars. Customers reported many recycling bins placed on the curb on the wrong day.
Banner year: A Michigan materials recovery facility had another record-setting year in 2016 for the volume of material it sent to the market. According to the Alpena News, the Alpena County Resource and Recovery facility brought in 1.5 million pounds of recyclable materials that were shipped to market, up from 2015’s 1.25 million pounds of goods.
San Diego aims to lead: San Diego city offices and other buildings hope to set an example of boosting the city’s diversion rate, as they ask the public to do the same thing. On Jan. 9, the San Diego City Council endorsed a plan that will include more public outreach, less waste production, increased collection options at city parks and other measures, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported. The plan aims to boost recycling at city facilities by 50 percent.
Targeting food waste: A report by a Pennsylvania legislative committee examined the “pressing environmental and economic problem” of food waste in the U.S. According to the report, food waste results in an annual $161 billion loss. The report also lists potential remedies, including centralized composting, standardizing expiration date labels, donation tax incentives, trayless dining programs and more.
Denver recycling rate: Denver recycles at about half the national recycling rate, the Colorado Public Interest Research Group found in a recent report. Denver has an 18 percent recycling rate, compared with a 34 percent national rate, according to Denver’s 9NEWS. Colorado’s capital city comes in far under neighboring Boulder’s 54 percent recycling rate.
