VANCOUVER – Vancouver resident Susan Wilson is the proud owner of a new iPad mini. Selected at random, Wilson was one of 1,500 people who successfully completed an online quiz about recycling in Clark County.
The quiz is part of Public Health’s Recycling Done Right project, a community effort to reduce the amount of non-recyclables in blue residential recycling carts.
The major component of Recycling Done Right is the Clean Cart Campaign when, from late-May through June, five teams did quick visual scans of more than 15,000 recycling carts ready for curbside pickup. The teams looked for plastic bags, soiled paper products, glass, block foam and other items.
Tags were placed on inspected carts, either complimenting residents for doing a good job recycling or asking them to keep plastic bags and other items not accepted in the curbside program out of their carts.
“The Clean Cart Campaign’s goal is to educate people about what can be recycled in Clark County,” said Sally Fisher, who leads the project. “Recycled products are a commodity, and when plastic bags and other items enter the system, they decrease the value of recycled products, clog equipment, and ultimately increase the cost of recycling.”
Common items that can be recycled in the blue carts are cardboard, paper, plastic bottles and tin and aluminum cans. Glass must be placed in a separate container.
Plastic bags cannot be recycled in the blue recycling cart but may be taken to local grocery stores that accept bags for recycling.
Information about how to recycle more than 100 items is on the county website at www.clark.wa.gov/recycle/recyclingA-Z.html.
