Scott Participating In Recycling Contest

The Super Bowl is over, but that doesn’t mean the trash-talk is. Make that recycle-talk.

Scott Township and other South Hills towns are participating in a yearlong competition to increase residential recycling. Andrew Baram, a Mt. Lebanon resident and member of its Waste Reduction Committee, helped put the contest together.

“I am just one of those people who truly believes in recycling,” said Baram, whose family of four generates less than a bag of trash a week.

He said he sees varying degrees of recycling around – from fervent recyclers to those who don’t bother. Most people try, he said, although some people may not be aware of how easy it is to do so now that single-stream recycling has been in place for a couple years. That means residents don’t have to sort materials.

So Baram figured a contest would be a good way to spread the recycling gospel. Participating communities will be judged in two categories for which prizes - trophies made of recycled material - will be given out.

Among the categories:

* largest percentage increase in residential recycling compared to last year.

* largest increase in residential tonnage over last year.

The nearby borough of Dormont recycled 409.01 tons in 2010; commercial and institutional recycling is not counted for the contest. Borough Manager Gino Rizza said he hopes the program encourages more residents to recycle.

Mt. Lebanon is coordinating the program and is competing with Scott Township, Baldwin, Brentwood, Jefferson Hills, Peters, Pleasant Hills, South Park and Upper St. Clair.

The communities work with Waste Management, Allied Waste and Greenstar Recycling, Baram said. He added that the contest is friendly, with only bragging rights at stake.

Baram hopes it will spur a reduction in recyclable materials sent to landfills.

“While we want to be selfish and win this thing, truly, everybody wins,” Baram said.

This story originally appeared on Dormont-Brookline Patch