Washington Neighbors “Put Their Trash on a Diet”
Six neighbors in Renton, Washington began a month-long competition Thursday to see which household can lose the most garbage weight.
The contest is part of King County’s “Recycle More. It’s Easy to Do” education campaign. The program focuses on five steps to help residents recycle more in their homes:
- Know what recyclables are in the garbage
- Set one or more convenient recycling locations in the home
- Involve the entire family
- Put food waste in yard waste bins
- Make an effort to clean out recyclable containers
The steps were created based on research done in various homes by the King County Solid Waste Division. Researchers said most families understood what and how to recycle, but many did not do so because of inconvenience. Also, people often did not recycle containers that needed to be cleaned before recycling, such as peanut butter jars.
Recycling is easy to do if you know what locations accept your materials. Search for recycling drop-offs and programs in your neighborhood using Earth 911’s recycling locator.
