At an event near you: the future of recycling | Guest Column

Published 10:34 am Monday, August 1, 2016

At Waste Management, we do everything we can to make recycling simple. That said, when you’re staring at a funky takeout container, discover a bag of dead batteries or are ready to retire an old appliance, recycling can suddenly seem complicated.

That’s OK – like most of us, you’re probably due for a recycling refresher. And we have just the team for the job.

This summer, at community events across Puget Sound, look for the Waste Management booth. It’s staffed by some of the most up-to-the-minute people in the recycling game: the Recycle Corps. You may have even seen the Recycle Corps at Redmond’s own Derby Days.

Designed and initiated by Waste Management, the Recycle Corps is a summer program that helps students dive head first into waste reduction. The goal is simple: take recycling to the next level in communities like Redmond through one-on-one conversations.

In the field, it’s a tough, complicated job. Interns work with businesses and the public in 26 cities to tackle questions and barriers big and small. By using a back-to-the-basics approach and focusing on recycling items correctly, the Recycle Corp works with cities across the Puget Sound to step up their recycling habits in ways that make the biggest impact.

This year’s Recycle Corps interns come from top schools in Washington, California and Florida. They are passionate about sustainability and also multilingual, speaking Spanish, Telugu, Mandarin, American Sign Language and Hindi. They’re an impressive group, and we’re excited for you to meet them.

Recycle Corps has been a big success for Waste Management and the environment. Since 2014, this one-of-a-kind program has cultivated incredible results in the Puget Sound communities we serve. The Recycle Corps interns have diverted more than 7 million pounds of recyclable material from the landfill and made a big impact on the recycling habits of our community partners.

Recognizing these successes, in 2015 the Solid Waste Association of North America honored Waste Management with the prestigious Gold Excellence Award (one of the highest honors in the industry) for the Recycle Corps program.

Through Recycle Corps, we are cultivating the future leaders recycling needs. The next generation of recycling depends not only on innovation and new technologies, but also improving our community’s understanding and commitment to recycling. It needs leaders who are mastering the art and science of changing behavior for the better.

At Derby Days, between the bicycle races and food trucks, Redmond pledged to Recycle Often, Recycle Right, and you brought your toughest recycling questions. Thank you for taking the opportunity to talk one-on-one with young leaders working to protect the planet. We loved hearing your questions and your dedication to improving sustainability right here in Redmond.

Michelle Metzler works in public education and outreach for Waste Management.