Center City and South Philadelphia Recycling Diversion Rate Close to 30 Percent!

The Streets Department of Philadelphia recently released recycling rates from the second quarter of fiscal year 2010 and there is good news all around. The Philadelphia residential recycling diversion rate is now at 17.5 percent- tripling the rate from just two years ago!

Recycling rates in the neighborhoods of Center City (south of Vine St.) and South Philadelphia are now the highest in the City and have risen above and beyond Chestnut Hill and Mt. Airy. Below are the top 10 collection days, areas, and diversion rates:

Neighborhood                  Collection Day                Diversion Rate (%)
CC/South Philadelphia             Friday                             29.7
CC/South Philadelphia             Wednesday                     28.1
CC/South Philadelphia             Thursday                         26.7

East Falls                               Monday                           25.0
CC/South Philadelphia             Tuesday                           23.7
Manayunk                               Thursday                         23.2
Chestnut Hill                            Friday                             21.6
CC/South Philadelphia              Monday                           21.3
Mt. Airy                                   Wednesday                     21.1
Northern Liberties/Fishtown       Friday                             20.1

Don’t see your neighborhood listed? You can request a presentation from RecycleNOW for your civic, community, faith or any other organization that would like to help get their neighborhood recycling. Contact us at info@recyclenowphiladelphia.org to request a presentation or materials.

Questions or Comments?

RecycleNOW Philadelphia

c/o Clean Water Action

1315 Walnut Street, Suite 1650

Philadelphia, PA 19107

Email us at:info@recyclenowphilly.org or call 215-545-0250

Don't forget to visit our website: http://www.recyclenowphiladelphia.org/

Keep Up the Sweep Up

Help to give Philadelphia a good spring cleaning!

Have you already signed up for the Philadelphia Recycling Rewards program? Register to help with a cleaning project

Busting the Myths of Recycling

Myth: Construction and demolition (C&D) waste can't be recycled.

Fact: Concrete, brick, stone, dirt, wood and drywall can all be recycled.

Drywall can be pulverized and recycled into new drywall. Concrete, brick, soil and other rubble can be reused as clean fill in building and road construction products. Some wood can be salvaged for reuse, while the rest is chipped for mulch for playgrounds and planting beds. Dimensional lumber, flooring, plywood and particle board are all recyclable, but pressure treated wood will be landfilled.

Philadelphia has two great C&D recycling operations, but it will cost anywhere from $30 to $50 for up to a half a ton or $60 to $80 for a ton. These are quite reasonable rates since the city does not accept construction and demolition waste in its curbside collection, so one would have to pay to have it hauled away or disposed of even if it weren't recycled. Dropping it at one of the below locations will ensure your C&D waste doesn't end up in a landfill. Make sure to call ahead and verify that they're open and to ask about their rates for different materials.

2011 Household Hazardous Waste Drop-off Events
As you embark on your spring cleaning, don't throw those hazardous materials you find in the garage or basement in the trash. You can recycle them or have them disposed of properly by bringing them to a Hazardous Household Waste Drop-Off event.
Saturday April 9, State Road at Ashburner street. 1.3 miles north of Cottman Ave
Saturday May 14, 4800 Parkside Ave
Saturday June 11, Domino Lane and Umbria Street, Roxborough
Thursday July 21, State Road at Ashburner street. 1.3 miles north of Cottman Ave
For more information go to: http://www.phila.gov/streets/HHW.html

Philadelphia Recycling Rewards is Here!

East Falls – Recycling already?  Great!  Not yet?  Well – get started now by signing up for Philadelphia Recycling Rewards!

Mayor Nutter and the City of Philadelphia want to reward you for recycling right.  With the new city-wide program, powered by RecycleBank, you’ll be conserving natural resources, saving the City millions of dollars, and earning up to $400 a year in valuable rewards, merchandise, and discounts at participating businesses – just for recycling!

All you have to do is log on to www.phillyrecyclingpays.com, click on the “Get Started Now” button, and fill out the online registration form to open a RecycleBank account.  Or you can sign up by calling 888.769.7960.

In about three to four weeks’ time, begin looking for your welcome mailer, which will include your Philadelphia Recycling Rewards sticker (see picture).  Put it on your primary recycling container – metal or plastic, 32-gallon or less – so that you can begin earning your RecycleBank Points.  You can also earn points by reducing the amount of trash that goes into the landfill.  This saves the City money, and they want to pass some of that benefit on to you!

Once you’ve recycled with your new sticker for a few weeks, log into your RecycleBank account or call 888.727.2978 to order valuable rewards of your choosing from restaurants, grocery stores, pharmacies, or entertainment venues, for example.  It’s your choice!

Don’t delay, East Falls!  Sign up today so you can have your sticker on your bin by the time Philadelphia Recycling Rewards rolls out in the Northwest on July 1.  And if you’re one of the first 10,000 people to sign up since May 15th, Verizon will offer you 50 bonus points.  Verizon will also double your curbside RecycleBank points for 24 months if you’re one of the first 500 RecycleBank members in the Philadelphia tri-state area to activate a new, two-year line of Verizon Wireless service.  That’s a lot of savings!

So don’t forget to tell your friends and neighbors about Philadelphia Recycling Rewards – because the more you and your neighbors recycle, the more points and rewards you will earn!