Recycling and going green accomplish two of what should be the top goals for every local government and organization: saving the environment and saving money. Here are 15 tips for accomplishing both, assembled from various sources, from Columbia University to several reputable blogs.

1. Install compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) rather than incandescent ones.
2. Unplug and turn off devices when you’re not using them. You can also use smart power strips, which turn off devices that are not in use.
3. 3.       Encourage employees to walk or bike to work. You can promote programs like bike sharing and install bike racks near the office (sheltered bike racks are preferred by bikers!) to keep people from driving. Additionally, you can offer employees monthly public transportation stipends to further discourage driving.
4. 4.       Focus resources on sidewalks and bike lanes to encourage all citizens to bike and walk.
5. 5.       Go green with buses. Work towards incorporating hybrid buses.
6. 6.       Don’t throw your electronics away! Electronics and batteries should be used up entirely before they’re discarded, at which point they should be brought to an electronics recycling plant. Phones can also be recycled.
7. 7.       Have heating ducts cleaned regularly. Also, tighten your windows and potentially leaky faucets regularly.
8. 8.       Host regular or ongoing drives for old clothing, books, and other reusable supplies. Everyone has them and there’s never a shortage of charitable foundations that can use them.
9. 9.       Institute a bag tax. The recent Washington, D.C. “Bag Law” has instituted a five cent tax for every bag a shopper uses.
10. 10.   Create a haulers program like Beaverton, Oregon. The city contracts seven different haulers, each serving a different section of the city, making the planning and logistics less complicated for each franchise.
11. 11.   Create goals. Some recycling programs, as noted in a study by Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, establish zero-waste goals. Others create goals to have waste reduced incrementally over a longer time period.
12. 12.   Every other week garbage collection is also suggested by the Mecklenburg study; if that is done and recycling is still collected weekly, it will encourage citizens to create less garbage and be more conscious of their recycling habits.
13. 13.   Establish fees for solid waste collection. Nothing discourages people from using a service quite like making them pay for it.
14. 14.   Sell recyclable materials to make money for your local government.
15. 15.   Provide recycling guides to citizens explaining what types of materials can be recycled, as well as basic information such as pickup schedules and locations of recycling plants. Send these guides via e-mail; why use paper when it’s unnecessary? One such list can be found here.

For more information about recycling, read an ICMA article from  November2012.  In the Know recently wrote about the Top Ten Ways to Beautify Your City, which included cleaning and recycling. In August 2010, Local Focus, which is published by the League of Oregon Cities, released an article entitled “16 Cities, 16 Approaches to Sustainability.” Wichita, Kansas, started a new solid waste and recycling program this year, which was detailed by ICMA. At  the 2011 ICMA conference, there was a session about sustainable textile recycling programs available through the organization USAgain; you can view the PowerPoint from the session on the Knowledge Network. You can also browse the Knowledge Network’s Recycling and Sustainability topic pages.

Other recycling resources

The EPA offers tools for local government recycling programs, which includes how to make recycling programs more economically efficient, outreach materials, communicating the benefits of recycling, and more. Another resource for your local government is the Local Government Recycling Assistance Team, which provides similar resources, as does the Institute for Local Government’s Commercial Recycling Resource Center. Furthermore, organizations such as the California Resource Recovery Association offer online courses on the topic of local government recycling.

What recycling initiatives has your local government taken?

Other sources used in this post:

http://ehs.columbia.edu/ReduceReuseRecycle.html

http://swampscott.patch.com/blog_posts/top-10-recycling-tips-curbside-and-otherwise