Seward’s NEW Recycling Project
by Mike Trdan
On March 29, 2011 a NEW type of recycling collection started in a Seward Neighborhood pilot area. Recycling participation now is more convenient for residents in the Seward Enhanced Recycling Pilot Area (see the map below) because a “Two-Sort” system makes recycling easier than under the City’s previous “multi-sort” collection method. In the pilot area residents now are able to sort recyclables into just TWO categories:
- all paper fiber, and
- all containers (metal cans, plastic bottles and glass containers and jars).
Residents in the pilot area also are eligible to receive NEW recycling containers to aid with the two-sort system. The Minneapolis Sanitation & Recycling Office will provide two or more recycling receptacles at no cost to residents. There are several choices but the Seward Neighborhood Group encourages residents to request the wheeled, 22 gallon recycling carts with lids as their preferred receptacle.
Residents who want the new containers should complete and return the selection card that the City mailed to residents the week of March 22, 2011. Pilot area residents who did not receive the card (or might have misplaced it) can obtain another by calling the office of Minneapolis Solid Waste & Recycling Services at 612-673-2917 or by contacting SNG co-president, Mike Trdan, at mnmichaelrecycle@gmail.com.
At present the City has no additional publicity planned for this project. For the Enhanced Recycling Pilot Project to succeed, the neighborhood’s help and involvement is needed. The Seward Neighborhood Group is attempting to establish a network of “Recycling Block Coordinators” to inform and educate neighbors about the project. Volunteer Block Coordinators would be asked for about 1/2 to 1 hour of time per month to promote recycling. Residents interested in helping as Block Coordinators should email Mike Trdan, at mnmichaelrecycle@gmail.com.
photo by Carol Greenwood
