This summer, Waste Management’s new Clean Cart Challenge Prize Patrol will be in local neighborhoods – including Kirkland – rewarding top-notch recyclers for their green habits. If the Prize Patrol finds a customer’s recycling cart or container contains only acceptable recyclable materials, they’ll win a gift card valued at up to $150.

The Clean Cart Challenge is designed to insert some fun into recycling and re-energize customers to take a second look in their garbage bins – it’s likely that they’ll find items that can be recycled instead of thrown away. In fact, over half of garbage collected in King County is composed of recyclable material. So local residents and businesses still have an opportunity to recycle more.

“We encourage customers to prepare for the Clean Cart Challenge by downloading recycling guidelines from our Web site at www.wmnorthwest.com,” said Katie Salinas, Public Sector manager for Waste Management. “Review these guidelines to learn about all of the materials you can place in the recycling and then take a good look at your garbage; you may be surprised at what you can shift to the recycling.”

“The City of Kirkland is excited to partner with Waste Management on the Clean Cart Challenge,” said John MacGillivray, City of Kirkland Solid Waste coordinator. “Our citizens do a great job of recycling, and this program will provide an incentive to recycling even more.”

Waste Management is also looking for Kirkland’s greenest residents and businesses to share their recycling and waste reduction tips on their Web page. Please send an e-mail, photos or video depicting the “green” in your life to recyclenw@wm.com.

The Clean Cart Challenge will run all summer long in Kirkland, Redmond, Bothell, Federal Way, Auburn, Marysville, Burien and unincorporated areas of King and Snohomish County that are serviced by Waste Management. You must be a Waste Management customer and live or operate your business in participating communities to be eligible to win.

Customers are encouraged to learn more about the challenge and view a full list of what can be recycled by visiting the Waste Management Web site at www.wmnorthwest.com/cleancartchallenge or by following the challenge on Facebook at www.facebook/cleancartchallenge. Customers that wish to opt out of the program may e-mail Waste Management at recyclenw@wm.com.