Waste Management launches recycling education program in Berwyn

BERWYN – Berwyn and Waste Management are reminding residents to "recycle often, recycle right" with a new education program that started this month.

Assistant City Administrator Ruth Volbre said Waste Management did a survey last fall and noticed a large percentage of items being put into the recycling that shouldn’t be there and can’t be recycled.

These items included plastic bags, which get caught in the machines and could shut them down, and containers with food still in them, she said.

Waste Management, based in Houston, already conducted its Recycle Often, Recycle Right program in Elgin and parts of Chicago and were successful, Volbre said.

A company representative, Vaughn Kuerschner, made a presentation March 1 to the Berwyn City Council, and the program started at the beginning of April.

Residents will get a tag, listing recycling dos and don’ts, on their recycling bin that they can put on their refrigerators.

If residents ignore these rules, they will get a warning. If they continue to disregard the rules, their recycling will not be picked up.

Lisa Disbrow, spokeswoman for Waste Management of Illinois, said in an email the campaign is designed to help customers understand why and how to recycle.

"We are working with the city of Berwyn and their residents to help them get back to the basics of good recycling," she said in the email.

Through research, Waste Management learned consumers want to do the right thing and recycle, but they are not sure which items are recyclable, so they toss items into the recycling cart, hoping the company will sort out the non-recyclable items, Disbrow said.

“To address this, Waste Management developed the 'Recycle Often, Recycle Right' education program that focuses on the basic materials with the largest recycling potential – bottles, cans, paper and cardboard," she said.

Besides the tags drivers are leaving on recycling bins, educational materials also were included in the city of Berwyn newsletter and water bills, Disbrow said.

The motivation behind the campaign is to increase recycling – because there are still more recyclables mixed in with regular garbage that could be recycled – and to raise awareness, inspire and simplify recycling by focusing on materials that are the most valuable, she said.

“Our goal is to ensure that recycling is sustainable over the long-term, both environmentally and economically,” Disbrow said.

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Know more

For information on the program, visit berwyn-il.gov, recycleoftenrecycleright.com or facebook.com/BerwynIL.

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Recycling rules

Items that should and should not be recycled, according to Waste Management, are:

Recycle:
• Plastic bottles and containers
• Food and beverage cans
• Food and beverage cartons
• Paper
• Flattened cardboard and paperboard

Don't recycle:
• Food waste (compost instead)
• Plastic bags and film
• Foam cups and containers
• Needles