The Rechargeable Battery Recycling Corporation recognizes Portland-area recycling program for its leadership in recycling rechargeable batteries
SEASIDE, September 13, 2002 – The Rechargeable Battery Recycling Corporation (RBRC), a non-profit organization dedicated to recycling rechargeable batteries, announced today that Portland’s Metro Regional Government and its Environmental Action Team (ENACT) were awarded RBRC’s second annual “Community Recycling Leadership Award.” The award will be presented at the Association of Oregon Recyclers conference in Seaside, Oregon on Saturday, September 14.
The RBRC Community Recycling Leadership Award recognizes RBRC community program participants for their outstanding efforts in rechargeable battery recycling. In addition to Metro and its ENACT program, the Indiana Household Hazardous Waste task force and the Lancaster County (PA) Solid Waste Management Authority were also recognized by RBRC for their leadership.
Metro is the directly elected regional government that serves more than 1.3 million residents in Clackamas, Multnomah and Washington counties and the 24 cities in the Portland, Oregon metropolitan area. Metro provides solid waste and hazardous waste disposal services, waste reduction programs and recycling, and “buy recycled” activities. Metro has been a participant in the RBRC program since 1995. Metro’s ENACT program develops recommendations for making Metro’s own facilities’ business practices more sustainable and awards grants for selected projects.
Metro’s accomplishments in 2001 include:
- Collecting almost 3,000 pounds of rechargeable batteries from citizens and businesses through its hazardous waste program
- Awarding an ENACT grant to the Oregon Zoo, a Metro-owned facility, to purchase battery recycling stations
- Answering over 100,000 calls a year from individuals and businesses across the region about recycling
- Maintaining a referral database of more than 300 recycling depots, drop sites, collection services, curbside and reuse programs
“The success of the RBRC program depends largely on our community partners spreading the word and making it easy for local residents to recycle their rechargeable batteries,” said Ralph Millard, Executive Vice President, RBRC. “Metro has proven to be a stellar example for other communities to model their recycling collection programs after and we applaud their innovation, leadership and dedication to spreading the word about recycling.”
RBRC’s community recycling program provides communities and municipalities information on how to operate a household battery collection program. Through RBRC’s program, participating communities and municipalities can receive collection containers and collateral materials at no cost. Over 300 communities in the U.S. and Canada currently take part in RBRC’s Charge Up to Recycle! ® program. These community programs are in addition to the over 30,000 retail locations across the U.S. and Canada that participate in the RBRC program.
To register as an RBRC community collection participant call toll free (877) 723-1297 or go to http://www.rbrc.org/community/.
To find out more about recycling programs in the Portland area, call Jan O’Dell, Metro Senior Public Affairs Specialist, at (503) 797-1599.
To find the nearest rechargeable battery drop-off location, consumers can call 1-800-8-BATTERY or go to www.rbrc.org.
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About Call2Recycle®
Call2Recycle is the industry’s first and only product stewardship program for rechargeable batteries. The nonprofit program is administered by the Rechargeable Battery Recycling Corporation (RBRC), a public service organization dedicated to rechargeable battery recycling. There are more than 30,000 Call2Recycle drop-off locations throughout the U.S. and Canada. More than 175 manufacturers and marketers of portable rechargeable batteries and products show their commitment to conserve natural resources and prevent rechargeable batteries from entering the solid waste stream by funding the Call2Recycle program. In pursuit of its mission, Call2Recycle also collects old cellphones, which are either recycled or refurbished and resold when possible with a portion of the proceeds benefiting select charities. For more information, call 877-2-RECYCLE or visit www.call2recycle.org.
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