Recycling in Seattle
Northwest Polymers – Supporting Seattle Recycling Initiatives
It is hard to separate the image of lush, green, fresh mountain forests from the city of Seattle. It is, after all, a city that enjoys some of the highest rates of rainfall in the US, as well as the wooded wilderness of the Cascade Mountain Range to the east and Puget Sound on the coast. Conserving this ‘Green’ image, and the active outdoor lifestyle its citizens enjoy, means that in Seattle, recycling is key.
The fact the city boasts the largest population in the US northwest, at over 600,000, and a metropolitan population of 3.4 million, indicates the challenge of managing municipal waste through recycling in Seattle is not simple feat.
That explains why, in 2006, Seattle officials introduced mandatory recycling laws in response to some declining rates. This related to both residential and commercial sectors, with businesses required to recycle a variety of waste types (scrap metals, office furniture, office equipment etc), as well as more conventional recyclable materials like glass, paper and plastic scraps.
These laws has seen the recycling rate from the major sectors increase from 38% in 2003 to 50% in 2008, which translates into a rise from 283,000 tonnes to 394,000 tonnes of waste recycled. An ambitious rate of 60% is targeted for 2012.
These figures place Seattle amongst the most successful recycling cities in the US, establishing it as a leading example of ‘Green’ urban living. And thanks to efforts in Seattle, recycle is a concept that is now shown to be practically and economically viable.
As one of the leading plastic recycling companies in the region, Northwest Polymer is proud to be associated with the success that recycling in Seattle enjoys. Our dedicated purchase and collection service removes thousands of tonnes of unwanted plastic waste from our commercial and industrial clients, and transports it to our recycling center down the coast in Molalla, Oregon.
And once safely recycled into a selection of plastic resins and specialty polymers through industry-approved processes, we then satisfy the manufacturing sector’s needs by delivering cost-effective raw material to make second-generation plastic products.
So, through Northwest Polymers’ dedicated Value Added services, everyone wins – the environment and the economy.
City of Seattle recycling website
