Council News Release

Councilmember David J. Della
Councilmember Richard Conlin

SEATTLE PARKS MAY FINALLY GET A RECYCLING PROGRAM
Councilmembers Della and Conlin lead effort to put recycling at 106 park locations

SEATTLE – Councilmembers Richard Conlin and David Della hope to bring recycling to Seattle Parks through an eight month pilot project to collect glass, aluminum and plastic at 106 park locations. The pilot is expected to divert 45 tons of recyclable material.

“As we strive to reach zero-waste as a city goal, recycling at parks is a great way to reinforce recycling behavior, and may help to establish long-term recycling habits,” commented Councilmember Conlin. “It is about time that we bring recycling to the Parks, especially here in Seattle where people have been very supportive of recycling,” said Councilmember Della. “A lot of recyclable material is just being thrown away at parks because of a lack of collection bins.”

The Environment, Emergency Management & Utilities Committee will be briefed on this legislation this morning at 9:30 am in the City Council Chambers and will be streamed and shown live on Seattle Channel (Cable Channel 21, seattlechannel.org).

The project is being proposed by Seattle Public Utilities and the Parks Department and is in response to the City Council’s request in the 2007 budget process. The project would place labeled recycling containers at athletic fields, park shelters, beaches, regional parks and tennis courts in Southeast and Southwest Seattle. Park visitors will be educated about the new program through signage and the recycling containers will be collected five days per week. The pilot, estimated to cost $200,000, will be funded through the tonnage tax.

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