April 22, 2009
The Mayor Announces New Recycling Initiative in Inner Harbor
Baltimore, MD (April 22, 2009) – To celebrate Earth Day, The Mayor and Department of Public Works Director David Scott announced the kick-off of the Inner Harbor Streetscape Recycling Pilot program. The 10 new recycling bins have been specially designed for use in public spaces, and if the program is successful, the effort will be duplicated in public spaces throughout the city.
“These new recycling bins will give residents the opportunity to recycle while enjoying our historic Inner Harbor,” said The Mayor. “If we can increase the amount of recycling we do, we will save money, landfill space and leave our world a better place for our children.”
The bins are specifically built for outdoor recycling. They are prominent in yellow, which is the same color as Baltimore’s Single Stream Recycling bins offered to city residents.
“Our main efforts have always focused on urging our residents to recycle,” added Director Scott. “However, we know that many visitors to the Inner Harbor want to recycle as well. Now, we are giving them a way to do just that.”
The Bureau of Solid Waste’s Office of Recycling has implemented full scale recycling to all municipal buildings, and some small business and schools. Through this and the Single-Stream Recycling initiative, the collection of recyclable material has increased over 30 percent in 2008 from 2007.
If this pilot program is successful, the Bureau of Solid Waste plans to install the same bins on a larger scale. A second pilot project will target Baltimore’s park system – specifically Patterson Park. The success of the pilot will be gauged by the weekly tonnage rates.
