|
The City of Boston
and Prince George’s County, MD, recently launched unique campaigns
with business and non-profit partners to increase recycling of magazines
and catalogs. These first-of-their-kind partnerships include collaborative
efforts by the National Recycling Coalition, Time Inc., International
Paper and recyclers FCR in Boston and Recycle America Alliance in
Prince George’s County to create a model for magazine and catalog
recycling in cities across America.
Designed to inform residents that magazines and catalogs can easily
be included with other paper recycling, the “Recycling Magazines
is Excellent” campaign, or ReMix, will help divert magazines
from landfills and provide an economic benefit for the city and
the county.
“Recycling improves the environmental and economic health of
Boston,” said Mayor Thomas M. Menino. “The city gets paid
for recycling paper products. So, the more our residents participate,
the more the city benefits. It’s easy to recycle magazines
and catalogs because we already accept both with our curbside recycling
program. We are honored that the partnership has selected Boston
for this program based on our comprehensive efforts to make recycling
part of our everyday life.”
Jack Johnson, Prince George’s County executive, agreed. “The
ReMix campaign reflects the goals of my Livable Communities Initiative—citizens
and residents taking a vested interest in improving the environmental
and economic health of the county by recycling,” he said.
“According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, about
two million tons of magazines are produced each year in the United
States, but only about 32 percent are recycled,” noted Kate
Krebs, executive director of the National Recycling Coalition. “Our
national research shows that Americans support recycling, but they
are often uncertain about what can be recycled. That’s why
it is so important for all of us—government agencies, leading
companies and advocacy organizations—to work together to educate
the public. ReMix is a wonderful example of how the public and private
sectors can work hand-in-hand to increase recycling.”
For the ReMix partners, the environmental benefit was a key factor
in the decision to sponsor the public awareness program.
“International Paper partnered with Time Inc. to research current
trends in magazine recycling, and we discovered tremendous opportunity
to divert used magazines and catalogs from landfills,” said
David Struhs, International Paper’s vice president of environmental
affairs. “When a joint study suggested that one out of six
magazines sold gets recycled, we partnered with Time Inc. to develop
this ReMix campaign to promote the ease and benefits of magazine
and catalog recycling.”
Time Inc. director of sustainable development David Refkin said,
“We’re excited to be part of this effort to promote and
increase the recycling of magazines in Boston and Prince George’s
County. This initiative ties into the primary goals of sustainable
development—economic and environmental sustainability and social
responsibility. The ReMix initiative to increase recycling of magazines
reflects our editorial and business values and we are proud to be
associated with this partnership.”
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. “Because Boston and Prince George’s
County are known for their long-term, effective recycling programs,
they were ideal places to launch the ReMix partnership,” said
Krebs.
The partnership members developed public service advertisements
to encourage curbside recycling of magazines and catalogs. The ads
appear in various magazines, including TIME and Sports Illustrated,
and specifically target residents in Boston and Prince George’s
County as well as others in the Washington, DC, metro area. Boston
and Prince George’s County also are promoting public awareness
of magazine and catalog recycling through outreach activities to
residents.
The partners will measure the recovery of magazines and catalogs
throughout their local regions and will work to help residents conveniently
recycle their used reading material into newspapers or other paper
products.
International Paper, the National Recycling Coalition and Time Inc.
will showcase the ReMix program as a model for other U.S. cities
and towns. Currently, paper represents about 75 percent of the residential
tonnage that is recycled by the City of Boston and the surrounding
region, and 65 percent of the residential tonnage recycled by Prince
George’s County. However, with magazines and catalogs making
up less than six percent of that paper tonnage, the ReMix partners
see a clear opportunity to create an exemplary program that other
cities will want to emulate. The progress of the ReMix program will
be presented in late August at the 23rd Annual National Recycling
Coalition Congress and Exposition in San Francisco, CA.
|
