Regional Recycling Information Exchange Workshop

MAG Unveils Recycling Program to Help Solid Waste Planners

PHOENIX (March 16, 1999) — What areas of my community generate the most waste? How much cardboard gets thrown into landfills instead of being recycled? How much money could my city generate by recycling all of the recyclable materials in our waste stream?

These are just some of the questions that can be answered through the Maricopa Association of Governments' Regional Recycling Information Exchange (RRIE) Project. Funded through a grant from the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality, the project seeks to provide cities, solid waste planners and the public with information that will help communities develop viable recycling programs. VISIT THE RRIE WEBSITE.

The Regional Recycling Information Exchange project has four main goals, according to MAG Environmental Planner Drenan Dudley. They are: to encourage the development of recycling programs, to establish a recycling Web site, to hold regional forums to discuss recycling and solid waste issues, and to provide a database to help track solid waste in Maricopa County. That database, the Solid Waste Information Management System (SWIMS), has been set up to analyze recycling trends and solid waste systems.

The database incorporates socioeconomic, waste generation, waste disposal and recycling information to calculate past trends, examine current activities, and make predictions for the future.

"One of the unique qualities of the SWIMS system is that it is flexible and you can input data based on a variety of scenarios," says Dudley. "Communities can use the SWIMS database to better manage their solid waste systems, improve recycling programs, save money and generate revenue."

For example, cities could determine how much they could save each year in tipping fees (fees collected at the landfill for each truckload of waste) if they recycled all of the material possible in their municipalities.

Another aspect of the exchange program is a recycling Web site. The Web site provides regional information for MAG member agencies about recycling issues and could be used as a link between governments, businesses and nonprofit organizations involved in solid waste management. The RRIE Web address is www.mag.maricopa.gov/rrie/rrie.htm.

The Maricopa Association of Governments (MAG) is a regional organization that develops policies and makes decisions in areas such as transportation, air quality, water quality, solid waste and human services. MAG is made up of Valley communities working together to ensure a better quality of life for nearly three million residents in the Maricopa region. The region encompasses metropolitan Phoenix and includes the many cities, towns and Indian communities within Maricopa County. Governed by a Regional Council that includes 24 city mayors and other lead elected officials, MAG is the forum for ensuring an effective allocation of regional resources.

For more information about the Regional Recycling Information Exchange project, please contact Drenan Dudley at (602) 254-6300. For media inquiries, please contact Kelly Taft at (602) 452-5020.