Raleigh to reward responsible recycling

Raleigh, N.C. — The City of Raleigh is launching “Recycle and Win” Tuesday, an initiative designed to educate residents on the right way to recycle and to encourage them to do it.

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Raleigh to launch 'Recycle and Win' campaign

To get the word out about the recycling campaign, the city sent mailers to all single-family households. The mailer featured correct ways to recycle, along with information on how to win a $50 Harris Teeter gift card.

The educational mailer contained a sticker, which residents are supposed to put on their green recycling bins in order to win.

Raleigh resident Jeannie Inskeep said she was pleased to hear about the push to get more people to recycle.

"I just like the idea of not putting stuff in the garbage, of not building the landfills, just reusing things,” she said. "There are not a lot of people in my neighborhood who recycle, and I am hoping this will inspire some of them."

Inskeep said she is excited about the prize potential as well.

"Cool. I could use the gift card,” she said.

Linda Leighton, waste reduction specialist for Raleigh, said the campaign also aims to educate people about what items the recycling processor can't take such as:

• non-bottle-shaped plastic items, such as yogurt cups, bags, utensils and margarine tubs
• pizza boxes
• non-food glass products such as ceramic cups, vases, dishes, plate glass, mirrors and light bulbs

"Once you get grease and oil on paper, you can never get it back out,” Leighton said of why pizza boxes are not recycled.

Raleigh recycles the following items:

• plastic bottles
• newspapers and all inserts
• magazines and catalogs
• white paper, including junk mail
• corrugated cardboard
• paperboard, chipboard and paper tubes
• tin food cans
• aluminum beverage cans
• aluminum foil and trays that are free of food debris
• plastic beverage rings
• glass food and beverage containers
• gable-top cartons, like milk cartons
• aseptic (drink) boxes

Leighton said about 70 percent of Raleigh residents already recycle. The campaign hopes to encourage everyone to cut back on waste.

"We are trying to get people to recycle more, and to get new people who have not considered recycling to join the program,” Leighton said.

The campaign is sponsored by North Carolina-based Coca-Cola Consolidated, Harris Teeter and the North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources’ Division of Pollution Prevention and Environmental Assistance.

The “Recycle and Win” campaign plans to award 260 gift cards over the next 26 weeks.