Don’t be surprised when you haul your green cart, garbage bag, and recycling bins to the curb and you see your neighbours proudly carrying their yellow recycling bins brimming with recyclables to the curb. This special recycling bin is reserved for Hamiltonians who have been recognized as super recyclers by the City of Hamilton.
“We call it the gold box. It’s a reward and recognition program that we set up for super recyclers,” explains Jacquie Colangelo, Waste Management’s Queen of Green. “We’re looking for residents to divert 65 per cent of their garbage to recycling.”
The contest is open to single family households within the city of Hamilton that receive curbside waste collection service. Residents can enter the contest online, mail in their ballot, or visit a municipal service centre. Once entered, the City of Hamilton randomly selects households each month to audit their household garbage, recycling and composting.
“We pick up all your waste and sort through it. Once we’ve sorted through it, we create a report and let you know how you did. Even if you haven’t diverted 65 per cent of your waste, we let you know where and how you can improve,” Colangelo says. Residents who are successful at diverting 65 per cent of their household waste from the landfill, receive two gold boxes and the bragging rights to call themselves super recyclers. The top recycler each month wins the grand prize, which includes two gold box recycling bins and a cheque for $160. The cheque represents the average cost per household to receive waste management services for an entire year.
To read the full contest rules and regulations and to enter the Gold Box challenge online, visit
www.hamilton.ca/goldbox.
