Town meetings

The 3R Committee meets at City Hall on a regular basis to share information about how to reduce waste and encourage reuse and recycling throughout Recycle City.

A city government official attends these meetings and reports the results to the mayor, Ima Rae Turner. The 3R Committee works with local government and businesses to create better, more profitable markets for reused and recycled materials. (By buying and selling these materials in larger quantities, everyone gets better prices.)

The 3R Committee conducts letter-writing campaigns to encourage companies to reduce unnecessary packaging and the use of hazardous ingredients in their products. 3R members let companies know when they are pleased with changes and recommend these businesses to Mayor Turner for special awards.

Some members monitor state government debates for laws that could help improve waste management and the environment.

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Mayor's office

Once a month, Mayor Turner hosts a special town meeting to honor citizens and businesses that have made a special effort to reduce, reuse, and recycle. At the meeting, she presents a special plaque, a cash award, and issues a proclamation that is publicized in the local newspapers.

Mayor Turner studies model programs in other cities and introduces successful ideas to the Recycle City Council for local use. She also checks city government offices to determine the amount and types of waste they produce and makes sure that reuse and recycling policies are followed in each office.

City representatives work closely with federal, state, and county health departments and environmental agencies, including the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, to make sure local policies work to support other regulations that protect the environment.

To encourage even greater participation in the city's recycling efforts, Mayor Turner and the Recycle City Council are creating economic incentives for local businesses and waste companies. So far, they plan to:

• Link the cost of garbage pick-up to the amount being thrown away, so that businesses that reduce waste and recycle will pay lower fees
• Give tax breaks to waste haulers who pick up and recycle used equipment from local businesses
• Reward "green companies" that have excellent environmental records
• Pass laws requiring businesses and city institutions to recover more materials that can be recycled or composted (including a law to prohibit throwing away yard trimmings)
• Support local recycling efforts by keeping businesses up-to-date on recycling services and drop-off points
• Find new markets for recovered materials and give the information to Recycle City businesses

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Office

Recycle City's office workers, like Amy Woo, use computers to reduce the amount of paper they use. Amy installed a local area network, called a LAN, so office workers could send mail to each other electronically (e-mail), which requires no paper at all.

At Recycle City Hall, they always print on both sides of the paper. (If all offices in the U.S. increased the amount of two-sided copying to 60 percent, we would save over 15 million trees, or 890,000 tons of paper a year!) Then, when paper can't be used again, workers put it into a recycling bin for collection.

When the Recycle City government buys office supplies, it purchases recycled paper and other products that use less packaging or have been recycled. When it's time to buy computers and lighting supplies, the city purchases energy-saving models with "Energy Star" or "Green Lights" labels on them.

Here are some ideas that can be used in any office:

• Use central bulletin boards to post flyers
• Circulate one document among several people
• Eliminate fax cover sheets
• Edit and proof on the computer before printing
• Store files on computer disks
• Reuse file folders and envelopes with metal clasps
• Print drafts on paper that's already been used on one side
• Use smaller paper for short memos
• Use single spacing in documents

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Copy room

To reduce the amount of paper they use in the copy room, Recycle City employees use recycled paper and copy on both sides.

For coffee breaks, they use ceramic mugs that can be washed and reused. By using ceramic, the workers don't have to throw away foam or paper cups—saving resources and energy, and helping decrease the amount of waste that goes into the Recycle City landfill.

They put empty soda cans and bottles in collection bins for recycling.

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Plastic bench

The benches outside City Hall are made from recycled high-density polyethylene (HDPE) plastic. Before the plastic in this bench was recycled and processed, it used to hold milk in gallon jugs at the local grocery store.

Recycle City has wooden benches, too. When they need repainting, the city saves money and reduces waste by using recycled paint that was dropped off at the Hazardous Waste Disposal Center.

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