Community Corner

Hazelwood's Green Committee Joins St. Louis County's Recycling Becomes Me Program

The organization's goal is to position Hazelwood at the forefront of today's green initiative with an effective sustainability program.

The City of Hazelwood's Green Committee spearheads a few initiatives in the city in an effort to educate and empower Hazelwood residents to recycle more.

“Our goal is to position Hazelwood at the forefront of today’s green initiative with an effective sustainability program that includes diverting bulky recyclable items away from landfills," said committee chair Ron Darling. "In addition to saving landfill space, the processing of recyclable items creates local jobs, contributes to a growing economic industry, and valuable metals and other materials are able to be reused.”

To strengthen its recycling education efforts, Hazelwood’s Green Committee has joined the St. Louis County Health Department in promoting a “Recycling Becomes Me” campaign, designed to show people how recycling can become part of their everyday lives

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Hazelwood received $9,838 as part of a grant received through this partnership with St. Louis County.  In cooperation with the City’s management staff, the Green Committee is providing guidance on how to use these funds to produce educational materials and to conduct a recycling participation study.

According to the “Recycling Becomes Me” campaign on why recycling is good for the environment and our metropolitan region:

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  • If residents recycle just 5 percent more paper than in 2010, St. Louis County could fill Busch Stadium more than 12 times with all the trees that would be saved.
  • In 2010, the amount of recyclables collected curbside in St. Louis County equaled more than double the weight of the Gateway Arch.
  • In 2010, St. Louis County recycled enough to save 30,158 dump trucks worth of materials going to a landfill.


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