Washington county works to increase business recycling
King County’s Solid Waste Division is extending
its “Recycle more. It’s easy to do.” education
campaign to improve recycling practices among local businesses.
A campaign to improve recycling in homes was launched in September.
Currently, more than half of what ends up in King
County’s Cedar Hills Regional Landfill is readily recyclable,
including mixed paper, plastic film and cardboard, plus food waste
from businesses such as hotels and restaurants.
Each year, businesses in King County send more
than 800,000 tons of recyclable materials to the landfill, with
an estimated value of $40 million.
“Although King County is recognized nationally
as a leader in successful recycling programs, the reality is that
we can do better,” said Executive Ron Sims. “We’d
like to see all businesses take a closer look at their recycling
practices, and for employees to recycle all they can in the workplace.”
Businesses may not realize that by increasing
recycling, they can save 20-50 percent on their garbage bill. Smaller
or fewer garbage containers may be needed when recycling increases
and the volume of waste decreases.
As part of the business recycling campaign, King
County solid waste experts will offer one-on-one customized assistance
to nine local companies. Experts will help the businesses evaluate
their waste and improve recycling practices. The campaign targets
large hotels, retailers and business service companies, based on
the high percentage of recyclable materials each business type generates.
In addition, companies that increase their recycling
or are already recycling a large amount of their materials are encouraged
to apply for King County’s new “Best Workplaces for
Recycling” list. The list will be published next spring to
publicly recognize companies that serve as role models for other
businesses in the community.
For more information about recycling in King County
or to apply for the “Best Workplaces for Recycling”
list, visit www.metrokc.gov/recyclemore. |
