The New Mexico Recycling Coalition (NMRC) today announced they鈥檝e been awarded a Keep America Beautiful and Waste Management 2015 Think Green庐 Grant of $5000. NMRC鈥檚 Think Green庐 Grant is one of 39 awarded to Keep America Beautiful community-based affiliates and partner organizations across the country. 聽The Waste Management Think Green庐 Grants are part of the environmental services company鈥檚 commitment to encourage the development and sustainability of environmental solutions that improve a community鈥檚 environment. The merit-based grant program supports projects that are implemented to address local community needs.
NMRC is using its Think Green庐 Grant for their 鈥淚ncreasing Recycling鈥� project. 聽The NM 鈥淚ncreasing Recycling鈥� program鈥檚 goal is to develop strategies that will increase recycling in New Mexico to 50%. 聽This program launched in 2014 with NMRC working jointly with the New Mexico Environment Department to host its first stakeholder meeting and present initial research of what has worked in high-performing recycling states and to solicit feedback from attendees. Waste Management was a participant at that meeting. Based on those findings there are five subjects that will be researched further and then presented again for stakeholder feedback to include Funding Recycling, Business Recycling, Construction and Demolition Recycling, State Agency Recycling and Measuring Recycling.
The objective that this proposal addresses will focus on Business Recycling best practices. NMRC proposes to research what other states and communities have done to increase business recycling participation and the amount of material diverted. The research will then be presented at a Fall 2015 stakeholders meeting to gain feedback on strategies. 鈥淯tilizing existing stakeholder input, collaborating with the New Mexico Environment Department, identifying business recycling best practices and presenting these findings at further stakeholder meetings will help communities around the state develop strategies to boost their recycling levels,鈥� said English Bird, Executive Director of NMRC.
鈥淚t鈥檚 no secret that recycling is facing its share of challenges 鈥� from high levels of contamination in recyclables collected to falling prices in the commodity market. The work being undertaken by NMRC will help to address challenges and identify best practices to increase recycling by businesses across New Mexico,鈥� noted Mark Snedecor, Director of Recycling Operations 鈥� Waste Management Four Corners Market Area. This is the ninth year Waste Management and Keep America Beautiful have collaborated on community-based grant initiatives. During that time, Waste Management and Keep America Beautiful have awarded more than $1.3 million in grant monies to affiliates and partners in support of more than 205 community service projects and programs. Waste Management has supported Keep America Beautiful programs for many years, including as a sponsor of America Recycles Day and the Keep America Beautiful/Ad Council public service advertising campaign 鈥� 鈥淚 Want To Be Recycled.鈥�
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