Tempe debuts “Recycling on the Go” initiative

Grocery stores to host July and August plastic bag recycling drives; Tempe awarded grant for mobile recycling education

TEMPE, Ariz. – Going beyond traditional curbside recycling pickup, the City of Tempe offers community members a variety of ways to recycle, thanks to a new “Recycling on the Go” initiative. The effort includes community drop-off locations, grocery store recycling bins and a mobile outreach unit.

Tempe and the Arizona Food Marketing Alliance are collaborating this summer to promote the “Bag Central Station – Where Plastic Bags Belong” program, which began in Phoenix and has spread Valley-wide. Many Tempe-area grocery stores have volunteered to participate in the program and offer bins for customers to bring in plastic grocery bags for recycling. In July and August, the city will distribute reusable shopping bags at these locations and encourage residents to drop off plastic grocery bags:

Saturday, July 12, from 10 a.m. to noon:
*Bashas stores at 3115 S. McClintock Dr. (Southern Avenue and McClintock
Drive); and at 1761 E. Warner Rd. (Warner Road and McClintock Drive).
*Food City stores at 1338 E. Apache Blvd. (Rural Road and Apache
Boulevard); and at 725 W. Baseline Rd. (Baseline Road and Hardy Drive).

Saturday, Aug. 2, from 10 a.m. to noon
*Albertsons at 750 E. Guadalupe Rd. (Guadalupe and Rural roads).

Saturday, Aug. 9, from 10 a.m. to noon
*Fry’s stores at 3232 S. Mill Ave. (Mill and Southern avenues); 3255 S.
Rural Rd. (Rural Road and Southern Avenue); 5100 S. McClintock Dr.
(McClintock Drive and Baseline Road); and at 2700 W. Baseline Rd. (48th
Street and Baseline Road).

Saturday, Aug. 16, from 10 a.m. to noon
*Sunflower Market at 1706 E. Southern Ave. (McClintock Drive and
Southern Avenue).
*Wal-Mart at 1380 W. Elliot Rd. (Elliot Road and Priest Drive).

Saturday, Aug. 23, from 10 a.m. to noon
*Safeway stores at 926 E. Broadway Rd. (Broadway and Rural roads); and
at 1515 E. Elliot Rd. (Elliot Road and McClintock Drive).

Tempe now accepts all rigid plastics with recycling codes 1 through 7 in its recycling collection program. By increasing the amount of recyclables, the city hopes to increase the participation rate of
recycling and divert items from landfills.

The city also has increased options for community members to recycle away from home. Tempe has six neighborhood recycling collection centers – three of them are new. They are at: Jaycee Park (817 W. Fifth St.); the Arizona Historical Society Museum (1300 N. College Ave.); the city’s Household Products Collection Center (1320 E. University Dr.); Kiwanis Park Recreation Center (6111 S. All-America Way); the South Police Substation (8201 S. Hardy Dr.); and the Tempe Public Library (3500 S. Rural Rd.).

The Arizona Department of Environmental Quality has awarded the City of Tempe a grant to be used for recycling and solid waste education and outreach. The grant will be used to design and develop the Education/Recycling Information Center (ERIC), a mobile education center that will travel to Tempe locations to promote the value of the three Rs – reduce, reuse and recycle. The unit will increase awareness and participation in recycling programs, environmental conservation and solid waste management. ERIC will debut in spring 2009.

For more information, visit www.tempe.gov/recycling or call 480-350-8145.