BUFFALO – Today, Mayor Byron W. Brown announced that the City of Buffalo, in partnership with The Recycling Partnership, will sponsor a Multi-Unit Apartment Building Recycling Initiative called “Let’s Do This Together!”. The six-month pilot initiative aims to initially increase recycling collection at 1,500 apartment units and 300 apartment building, located in neighborhoods citywide.
“I thank The Recycling Partnership for partnering with us to launch the ‘Let’s Do This Together!’ program as we continue to increase recycling in the Buffalo community,” said Mayor Brown. “As part of this new program, we’re excited to work directly with property managers, landlords and tenants who occupy apartment buildings, providing them with a host of outreach and educational materials to drive measurable change. We look forward to keeping even more valuable recyclables out of landfills while improving the quality of recyclables that support Buffalo’s continuously growing recycling industry. I thank The Recycling Partnership for helping us do even more to make a positive impact in our neighborhoods with this next phase of our 34 and More Buffalo Recycles program.”
The “Let’s Do This Together!” Apartment Recycling Program will work with property managers and residents to bring the City’s 34 and More Buffalo Recycles Program to their buildings. As part of the program, the city will provide free collection to participating multi-unit residential apartment buildings, as well as recycling education. Buildings will also receive apartment-size recycling collection reusable totes, customizable assets, and on-site education and outreach for residents.
“The Recycling Partnership, with support from the Coca-Cola Foundation, is honored to partner with the City of Buffalo to provide convenient access to recycling at multi-unit properties across the community,” said Chris Coady, Director of Community Programs at The Recycling Partnership. “When combined with direct-to-resident education and outreach, this new initiative will further improve the City’s recycling program, support local jobs, and keep valuable recyclables out of the landfill.”
The City asks that multi-unit residents continue to do their part by placing only recyclable materials in their totes, including glass bottles and jars, aluminum and steel cans, food and beverage cartons, paper products (including newspapers and flattened cardboard), and empty plastic bottles and containers. To help limit trash in the recycling, only place empty and dry accepted items into the recycling tote.
Some items that cannot be recycled include plastic bags, paper towels, electrical equipment, batteries, and clothing. These items often get mixed into recycling totes because of “wish cycling” or the hope that they can be recycled. While well-intentioned, non-recyclable items cause serious issues, including damage at recycling facilities and injury to workers.
The Recycling Partnership, with financial support provided in part by The Coca-Cola Foundation, awarded the City of Buffalo $90,000 to complete the project. The Recycling Partnership is a national nonprofit whose efforts diverted 375 million pounds of new recyclables from landfills, saved 968 million gallons of water, avoided more than 420,000 metric tons of greenhouse gases, and drove significant improvements in capturing quality recyclables in communities nationwide.
The “Let’s Do This Together!” program builds on Mayor Brown’s other 34 and More Recycling Initiatives that have helped pushed Buffalo closer to its goal of 34% recycling. In 2020, the city achieved its highest curbside recycling numbers in program history, with 17,769 tons of material collected, recycled, and processed into new products. That’s an increase of 35% in 8 years.
If your multi-unit property is interested in participating, please visit buffalorecycles.org/apartment.