The Washington State Recycling Association presented threeRecycler of the Year awards to outstanding recyclers in the state. The awardswere announced at WSRA’s annual banquet and conference earlier this month.
The town of Garfield won Recycler of the Year for thecategory – Government or Institution. WSRA chose Garfield because, despite itssmall size and significant distance from local recycling facilities andregional markets, the town has provided solid waste services since 1975 andcurbside recycling since 1990.
Last year Garfield gathered 60 tons of recyclablematerials. The city also built a used oil recycling drop-off center next to therecycling center and expanded their user education program. Garfield hasreduced the amount of solid waste sent to the landfill by nearly 50 tons since1995.
Tacoma-based recycler, Recovery 1, Inc., was named theBusiness Recycler of the Year. Recovery 1 developed a system that takes commingleddebris from construction and demolition sites and separates it into recyclablematerials. WSRA named Wayne Gash, Washington State University’s Director ofMaterial Resource Services, Individual Recycler of the Year. Gash developed a recyclingprogram at WSU, making it a model program for colleges and universities acrossthe country. The program recycles or reuses nearly 40 commodities.
Under Gash WSU has recycled 6,126 tons of materials,generated $1,150,000 in revenue and saved the university $233,850 in disposalcosts over the last five years.