Dive Brief:
- American Disposal Services and nonprofit Carton Council have partnered to launch an awareness campaign about proper food and beverage carton recycling in the Washington, D.C. metro area, as reported by Alexandria News.
- The campaign, which focuses on advertisements throughout the area, is scheduled to last through November.
- The Carton Council touts that carton recycling is now available for 60% of homes nationwide, marking a 3% increase since January of this year.
Dive Insight:
The Carton Council has made strides to not only increase diversion in regions across the U.S., but to also help consumers understand why and how they can recycle. In April, the group conducted a national survey of 2,495 adults to examine how they perceive recycling, and found most of the respondents look to the media and other informational sources to stay up-to-date on how to recycle. Therefore, the Council's partnership with American Disposal is just one step in the right direction to keep residents in the Washington, D.C. metro area in-tune.
Washington has slowly but surely been improving waste management practices in recent years, most notably by banning Styrofoam containers in January. The city also imposed a five-cent fee on paper and plastic bags in 2010, with proceeds going to the Anacostia River Clean Up and Protection Fund.
As the nation's capital and home to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), it is crucial that Washington stands as a role model in waste management practices for the rest of the nation. With the upcoming presidential election, it will be interesting to see how these practices will be modified or enhanced with the inevitable change in national leadership.
