MILLVILLE, N.J. — During the 38th Annual Association of New Jersey Recyclers (ANJR) Symposium, Maurice River Township Recycling Coordinator Louann Karrer was presented with the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) Excellence Award.
The award was given to Maurice Ricer Township for its efforts to decrease the amount of plastic bags within their recycling stream.
“Plastics bags have been a big issue in the recycling community,” Loretta Pregartner, Cumberland County recycling coordinator said. “At the sorting facilities plastics bags are costly and dangerous to remove; and when not handled properly plastic bags end up as litter. Here at the CCIA we are so proud of Louann and Maurice River Township residents for leading the charge in eliminating plastics bags from the recycling stream.”
To do this, Karrer, in partnership with the Cumberland County Improvement Authority (CCIA) started to hand out red “No Bags in Your Bin” buckets to all of her residents in September 2018. The initiative was a new way of looking at how residents transport their recyclable to their bin and eliminate the need for plastic bags.
In March 2019, Maurice River Township and Earthtech, Maurice River Township’s recycling hauler, began rejecting recycling bins with plastic bags in them. The use of education and enforcement allowed Louann to reach all of her residents and reinforce the notion to keep plastic bags out of the recycling stream.
Questions about the recycling programs in Cumberland County? Contact Loretta Pregartner, Cumberland County Recycling Coordinator, at 856-825-3700 x1270.
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