Greendale's Recycling Program Awarded For Saving Money, Landfill Space

The City of Greendale's new curbside recycling program has improved the rate of recycling among city households.

Pictured (left to right): Bruno Pigott, Commissioner, IDEM; Rebecca Holwerda, Senior Operations Director, Governor's Office; Alan Weiss, Mayor, City of Greendale; Sandy Whitehead, Director of the Dearborn County Solid Waste Management District; Julia Wickard, Assistant Commissioner, Office of Program Support, IDEM; Bob Lugar, Deputy Assistant Commissioner, Office of Program Support, IDEM. Photo provided.

(Greendale, Ind.) - The City of Greendale has won an award for its new curbside recycling program.

It used to be that Greendale residents had the choice to take their recyclables to a trailer at the city park and then sort it into certain bins. But in April of 2018, the city introduced a curbside recycling program in partnership with Rumpke.

Making recycling easier has helped raise the city’s recycling rate by 10 percent, keeping more than 374 tons of material from going to landfills.

On Monday, the Indiana Department of Environmental Management presented the city with the Governor’s Award for Environmental Excellence in Recycling and Reuse.

“I am pleased to award this year’s Governor’s Awards for Environmental Excellence,” said Bruno Pigott, commissioner of IDEM. “These Awards recognize Indiana’s leaders who have implemented the most innovative, sustainable, and exemplary programs or projects.”

Commissioner Pigott and Rebecca Holwerda, Senior Operations Director for Governor Eric Holcomb, presented the awards during the 22nd annual Pollution Prevention Conference and Tradeshow held at the Marriott North in Indianapolis. 

Greendale’s recycling program also saved $5,775.21 over the last year on landfill tipping fees.