Alameda County residents are some of the best recyclers in the country, currently recycling and composting 69% of their trash, and now they have the opportunity to prove it – and win prizes to boot. StopWaste.Org recently launched the Ready Set Recycle Contest, which gives residents a chance to win prizes for keeping their trash free of recyclables and compostables. 

During regular garbage collection days through June 2011, the Ready Set Recycle Prize Crew will select random garbage bins and separate the contents into three categories: recyclables, compostables and garbage. Households with the least amount of recyclables and compostables in their garbage relative to the whole bin will be declared the winners.

Multiple winners will be announced each week and will receive cash or prizes. The best of all the winners – the households with the least amount of recyclables and compostables in their garbage overall – will receive prizes of up to $500.

You may have already seen the Prize Crew notifying residents that they are eligible by leaving a hang tags on their garbage bin with information about how to participate in the contest or decline participation if desired. A hangtag signals that the route has been randomly selected; only a percentage of bins on that route will be sorted and have the opportunity to win.

Alameda County residents can also participate in the contest and win prizes by taking the “I Recycle” Pledge online at www.ReadySetRecycleContest.Org.The website also offers helpful recycling tips, resources and a quiz to test residents’ recycling IQ.

On the website, residents will also be given the option to volunteer their home for a garbage sort. This does not guarantee their garbage will be sorted but it will be entered into the random selection process as if they had received a hangtag.

“Alameda County has already reduced the amount of materials it sends to the landfill by about one third since 2000,” said Jeff Becerra, Senior Communications Manager at StopWaste.Org, “and 93 percent of our residents report that they recycle regularly.

“But we won’t stop here. Alameda County residents set their own voter-mandated goal of diverting 75 percent of all waste from county landfills, and the Ready Set Recycle Contest aims to inspire residents to realize – and ultimately surpass – this goal. We hope participants will share recycling tips and encourage friends and neighbors to properly sort their waste – not just putting recyclables and compostables in their respective bins, but also keeping these bins free of trash contamination.”

Castro Valley Sanitary District’s (CVSan) General Manager Roland Williams stated, “CVSan is happy to see this contest come to our community.  We are a small public agency and it’s our job to make sure trash is handled in a sanitary manner and that as much material as possible is recycled and composted.  The Ready Set Recycle Contest is getting residents excited about waste reduction, not to mention rewarding them for doing the right thing.  We look forward to recognizing the winners from Castro Valley at our July 5^th Board Meeting!”

For more information about CVSan and how to recycle in Castro Valley, please click here.

To learn more about the contest and to make an online pledge to do your part to reduce waste by recycling and composting, visit www.ReadySetRecycleContest.Org.

About StopWaste.Org

StopWaste.Org is the Alameda County Waste Management Authority and the Alameda County Source Reduction and Recycling Board operating as one public agency. StopWaste.Org’s mission is to achieve the most environmentally sound solid waste management and resource conservation program for the people of Alameda County. Within this context, the agency is committed to achieving a 75% and beyond diversion goal and promoting sustainable consumption and disposal patterns.