In an effort to increase recycling and improve the quality of materials
through a comprehensive education program, Waste Management (NYSE:WM)
has launched a new online portal around its Recycle Often. Recycle
Right.SM campaign, which promotes the basics of
recycling by simplifying guidelines and empowering everyone to become
Recycling Ambassadors.
Conveyor belt at a single-stream recycling facility, where recyclables are separated by both machines and workers. (Photo: Business Wire)
Accessible at www.RecycleOftenRecycleRight.com,
users can access the campaign online and make a digital promise to
rethink recycling by “getting back to the basics of good recycling” and
encourage others to do the same.
As more and more communities aspire to achieve higher diversion rates,
the need for clarification and simplification has grown. In addition, as
recycling has evolved over the years, confusion about things such as
collection systems, what can and cannot be recycled, what materials are
made from, how they are packaged and their eventual end market, has
grown. The result? Today, up to 65 percent of consumers place
non-recyclables in their curbside recycling bins.
Waste Management’s Recycle Often. Recycle Right.SM
campaign simplifies recycling by promoting three basic rules:
1. Recycle all bottles, cans and paper
2. Keep items clean and dry
3. No plastic bags
“These three recycling rules serve as the foundation for understanding
how to recycle, while also addressing some of the common nationwide
issues impacting recycling rates and business profitability for the
industry,” said Jim Trevathan, executive vice president and chief
operating officer for Waste Management. “Our customers want to do the
right thing, and we want to help them do that. By emphasizing the most
common recyclable products and providing helpful tips to ensure those
materials can in fact be recycled rather than end up in a landfill,
Waste Management hopes to significantly impact the amount of usable
materials entering our recycling facilities, which helps save resources,
time, energy and raw materials.”
When users visit the Recycle Often. Recycle Right.SM
website, they are invited to make a recycling promise, pledge to
practice better recycling at home, work and throughout their
communities, and urge others to do the same by sharing their stories
through social media. In honor of America Recycles Day, an annual
celebration of recycling awareness on November 15, Waste Management is
hoping to gather 5,000 online promises by the end of the month.
The educational website includes recycling information that can be
downloaded by educators, city staff and members of the community.
Consumers can learn about some of the most common questionable items to
place in the waste or recycling bin via the Myth Busters guide, which
provides explanations behind why and how materials are or are not
recyclable, including plastic bottle caps, pizza boxes and candy
wrappers. In addition, recyclers are encouraged to engage through social
media using the campaign’s hashtag #RORR.
Visit www.RecycleOftenRecycleRight.com
to learn more about the campaign. Recycling information is also
available through Waste Management’s accounts on Facebook, Twitter and
Instagram.
ABOUT WASTE MANAGEMENT
Waste Management, based in Houston, Texas, is the leading provider of
comprehensive waste management services in North America. Our
subsidiaries provide collection, transfer, recycling and resource
recovery, and disposal services. We are the largest residential recycler
and also a leading developer, operator and owner of waste-to-energy and
landfill-gas-to-energy facilities in the United States. Our customers
include residential, commercial, industrial and municipal customers
throughout North America. To learn more visit www.wm.com.
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