Recycling Trash for Cash

One Dublin family has been rewarded for their recycling efforts. Richard and Sharon Lewis are the proud winners of Dublin's Ready, Set, Recycle contest and received a $250 check at the City Council meeting on Sept. 7.

"We were just very conscious about limiting our waste and recycling as much as possible," said Richard Lewis.

Sponsored by StopWaste.Org, the contest encouraged and rewarded residents who separated their recyclables and compostables from the trash. On regular collection days in June and July, the organization randomly selected trash carts and sorted their contents into three categories: recyclables, compostables and garbage.  

Five households with the least amount of recyclables and compostables in their garbage relative to the whole cart won $50 in cash or gift vouchers. The Lewis family was the best in that group of winners and therefore won the grand prize.

Lewis and his wife have two children, ages 4 and 2 and said that even the kids were involved in the recycling efforts.  

"We were educating them about what to put in each bin because it's important that we look out for the environment since every little bit will help."

The council acknowledged the efforts made by the Lewis family and said they hope the contest can be held again in the future. And while they've set the standard for recycling by winning, the Lewis family announced to the council that they are moving to Nigeria, where they hope to continue recycling.

The contest took place in Dublin and Fremont, but the Alameda county-wide initiative is scheduled to launch in 2011.

Winners of smaller prizes who agreed to be mentioned included:

• Erik & Mary Bertelson
• Eileen & Mandred Villik
• Lisa Burks 

If you'd like to learn more about recycling in the area, the Dublin Waste Management website offers a complete list of recycling locations in the area and even includes information about how to recycle a variety of different materials.  You can also get further information at Stop Waste.