City of Peoria Press Release
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Recycling Good for Peoria
Letter from Public Works Director to Residents
2/1/2012
Recently, we've received questions from our
residents about Peoria's recycling program. I am delighted to take this
opportunity to give your readers a little bit of background information and the
progress of the program.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has collected and reported data
on the generation and disposal of waste in the United States for more than 30
years. The EPA has found that there are significant environmental and economic
benefits associated with recycling. Recycling helps create jobs, can be more
cost effective than trash collection, reduces the need for new landfills, saves
energy, supplies valuable raw materials to industry, and adds significantly to
the economy. In October 2011, Peoria’s recycling program turned four years old,
and has indeed created environmental and economic benefits for Peoria.
Since implementation, Peoria residents have recycled more than 59,066 tons,
while the remaining 199,684 tons have been disposed at a landfill. Year one of
the program resulted in recycling 17 percent of Peoria’s residential trash; for
each of the past three years, it has been at 25 percent. Keeping this volume of
material out of the landfills is significant. Through an agreement with the city
of Phoenix, Peoria processes the recyclables at the North Gateway Materials
Recovery Facility. Through this process, Peoria has received payment of
approximately $1.45 million, while at the same time, saving $1.4 million in
landfill disposal fees. These savings have contributed to the current proposal
before City Council to reduce trash collection fees by 13 percent for Peoria
residents.
The national recycling rate for 2010 reported by EPA is 34%. Of course we can
improve the success of our program by increasing the number of tons that are
recycled and improving the quality of the recyclables. This can only be
accomplished with our residents’ continued commitment to recycling. Reducing the
amount of recyclables in your trash barrels immediately increases our revenues
for recycling while reducing our landfill costs. Reducing the contaminates of
trash in your recycling barrels equates to higher recycling revenues as well, as
the price received by the city is impacted by the contamination level which nets
less revenue. You can learn more about recycling by requesting information, a
presentation to a school or community group, or by taking a tour of the North
Gateway MRF where you can experience firsthand the recycling sorting process.
Contact the city of Peoria at 623-773-7160, view our website at
www.peoriaaz.gov/recycle, or send
an e-mail to reycling@peoriaaz.gov.
So when you place those recyclables in the recycle barrel, be assured that the
material is being recycled and Peoria residents will continue to reap the
rewards - both environmental and economical - of recycling.
Bill Mattingly
Public Works and Utilities Director
City of Peoria, Ariz.
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