May 2004

Boston Seeks to Increase Magazine and Catalog Recycling

Boston, MA— Building on its strong recycling record and its high magazine readership, the City of Boston launched a public awareness campaign with business and nonprofit partners to increase recycling of magazines and catalogs. This partnership includes the National Recycling Coalition, Time Inc. International Paper and recycler FCR.

Designed to inform residents that magazines and catalogs can easily be included with other paper recycling, the “Recycling Magazines is Excellent” campaign (ReMix) will help divert magazines from landfills and provide an economic benefit for the city.

Boston’s mayor, Thomas M. Menino, asked residents who are not already including magazines and catalogs in their paper recycling to simply put them in with their other paper to be recycled.
International Paper and Time Inc. joined with the National Recycling Coalition to research major U.S. cities’ recycling rates and infrastructures to determine the ideal location for the launch of the ReMix program.

“Boston is a city known for its long-term, effective recycling program. It is a great place to kickoff the ReMix partnership,” said National Recycling Coalition Executive Director Kate Krebs.

The program not only benefits the city of Boston, but also is based on the core environmental values of its major sponsors.

The partnership members, along with recycling processor FCR, developed public service advertisements to encourage curbside recycling of magazines and catalogs. The ads, which appear in various magazines, including TIME and Sports Illustrated, specifically target Boston-area residents, thanks to Media Networks Inc., a marketer of local advertising in national magazines. Boston will continue to promote public awareness of magazine and catalog recycling through outreach activities to residents.

The partners will measure the recovery of magazines and catalogs throughout the region. The city will work to help residents take advantage of this convenient disposal of used reading material that can be recycled into newspapers or other paper products.