The City of Allentown will receive nearly $600,000 in a Recycling Program Performance Grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection. The grant reflects the more than 21,000 tons of residential and commercial materials recycled by city residents and businesses in 2008.
Performance grants from the state are based on the type and weight of materials recycled from residential, commercial and drop-off recycling programs. The grant award letter from the state praises the city for its “exemplary efforts.”
“Our residents and businesses have rallied behind the idea of green living through waste reduction and recycling,” said Mayor Ed Pawlowski. “Allentown has been a leader in recycling and was one of the first cities in this area to recycle electronic components, to have curbside recycling of cardboard boxes, plastics 1 through 7 and major appliances.“
Pennsylvania Act 101 mandates curbside recycling in the state’s larger municipalities (population over 10,000) and offers grants to be applied toward recycling program sustainability and enhancements.
“The grants we receive from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection are very important to the city’s recycling programs and allow us to provide quality services and programs to our residents and businesses,” said Ann Saurman, Manager of the Bureau of Recycling and Solid Waste. “This grant is totally based on Allentown’s recycling “performance,” and therefore, I am grateful for every resident, business and school that does their part by recycling.”
Allentown offers curbside recycling of newspaper, cardboard, paperboard, magazines, catalogs, mail, phone books and all types of white and colored paper; plastic bottles, jars, tubs and containers marked with numbers #1 through #7; glass bottles and jars (clear, brown and green); aluminum cans, foil and pie plates; steel cans; yard waste; and appliances and large metal items. The city also offers city residents recycling of electronic devices.
The city’s recycling programs reach all 36,500 households and 475 businesses in a once a week city curbside collection program.
The goals of the Act are to reduce Pennsylvania’s municipal waste generation; recycle at least 35% of waste generated; procure and use recycled and recyclable materials in state governmental agencies; and educate the public as to the benefits of recycling and waste reduction. Allentown residents, businesses and institutions together recycle approximately 38% of Allentown’s waste stream.
Recycling is a billion dollar industry in Pennsylvania, generating significant economic and environmental benefits.
The city’s recycling program has won awards from the Pennsylvania DEP, the U.S. Conference of Mayors, the National Recycling Coalition, the Solid Waste Association of North America and the Professional Recyclers of Pennsylvania, Keystone Chapter of the Solid Waste Association of North America and the Pennsylvania Waste Industries Association.
For more information on recycling programs in the city, call the Bureau of Recycling and Solid Waste at 610-437-8729, or visit the bureau website at www.allentownrecycles.org.
