NEWS INFORMATION FROM

THE OFFICE OF MAYOR STEPHEN R. REED
City of Harrisburg
King City Government Center
Harrisburg, PA 17101-1678
Telephone: 717.255.3040

FOR IMMEDIATE USE
8 September 2003

CITY TO OFFER FREE RECYCLING BINS THROUGH END OF SEPTEMBER; NEW, COMPACT BINS ALSO AVAILABLE FOR APARTMENT DWELLERS

Harrisburg, PA—Harrisburg’s trash recycling program is being further enhanced with the free distribution of new recycling containers to any resident needing one, Mayor Stephen R. Reed announced today. Made possible by a grant from the state Department of Environmental Protection, the city will be distributing some of the new bins on a door-to-door basis in some neighborhoods, with other free units available for citizen pick-up at the City Government Center.

Begun in 1989, the Mayor said Harrisburg’s recycling program was one of the first citywide recycling efforts to be adopted in Pennsylvania, and was in place before the state mandated that community recycling. The city’s initial residential recycling effort provided for the curbside collection of food-related glass, plastic and metal, and has since been expanded to include both commercial and residential recycling collections, as well as increasing the types of materials that are collected from each.

Reed said the city initially provided 14-gallon recycling bins when it began the curbside recycling collection effort, many of which have been lost, destroyed or are otherwise no longer in use. By providing the free new bins, the city hopes to increase the amount of recycling performed by city trash customers. The new bins include the large, blue 14-gallon containers for normal household use, as well as new, smaller 6-gallon bins that are intended for use in apartment complexes and residential high-rises. Any citizen providing proof of residency may secure one of the free new bins by going to the Harrisburg City Treasurer’s Office in the City Government Center during normal weekday business hours, or by requesting one from the city’s normal recycling crews on the day it collects recyclables in each neighborhood. City crews will follow the recycling truck with a separate truckload of the bins and, when workers note an address that rarely or never puts out recyclables, will deposit one on the doorstep for the occupants’ future use. The free bin giveaway program will continue through the end of September, with the bins sold at minimal cost after that.

“Contrary to some of the misinformation that has been made about Harrisburg’s recycling efforts during the recent discourse over the retrofit of the Harrisburg Resource Recovery Facility, Harrisburg has long had one of the midstate’s most extensive municipal recycling programs,” said Mayor Reed. “With the recent closure of the city’s incinerator, it is even more important today for us to remove from the waste stream every possible recyclable material. This will significantly reduce the amount of waste otherwise being shipped to area landfills, as well as the cost of doing so. Recycling makes good sense for both the environment and for the pocketbook.”

The Mayor said Harrisburg’s residential recycling program currently includes food-related plastic, bi-metal, tin and aluminum cans, and clear, brown or green glass, as well as newsprint and yard waste. Commercial recycling items include high grade office paper, glass containers, corrugated paper, aluminum cans and yard waste. The city, in conjunction with the Dauphin County Solid Waste Authority, also places distinctive recycling containers at various city events and activities, including along the waterfront during the popular holiday festivals. There are also recycling drop off containers at the Uptown Plaza, N. 7th and Division Streets, and in front of the City’s Resource Recovery Facility at 1670 S. 19th Street. More than 1,600 tons of recycled materials were collected in Harrisburg throughout 2002, up nearly 500 tons from the previous year.

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