MANCHESTER, NH – Today, Mayor Joyce Craig and the Department of Public Works announced the City of Manchester has partnered with Rehrig Pacific to roll out new recycling carts made from ocean-bound recycled plastic.
Manchester is only the second city in the nation to utilize ocean-bound recycled plastic in their recycling carts. The OceanCore carts will replace broken or new carts for Manchester residents across the city.
“We’re thrilled to be the second city in the nation to partner with Rehrig Pacific in using their 100 percent recyclable cart,” said Mayor Joyce Craig. “Distributing recycling carts composed of reusable ocean-bound plastics is another way the City of Manchester is working to ensure our community remains healthy and sustainable for future generations.”
“We are undoubtedly excited to be taking another step into sustainability by issuing Rehrig Pacific’s OceanCore carts for our curbside collection,” stated Chaz Newton, Solid Waste and Environmental Programs Manager, Department of Public Works. “Partnering with Rehrig Pacific on their OceanCore cart signifies the commitment that the City possesses to achieve our waste goals.
The OceanCore cart is made from a blend of 40 percent post-consumer recycled material, 10 percent of which is recycled ocean-bound plastic found in and near lakes, beaches, and waterways on the way to the ocean.
Utilizing OceanCore carts is one of many ways the City is continuing to invest in environmentally-friendly practices and has made significant progress in recent years.
This includes the City’s recent sale of $46.5 million in green bonds, which will finance a portion of the City’s program to remove combined sewer overflows into the Merrimack River, resulting in cleaner water. These green bonds must be used to finance projects that have a positive environmental impact.
In addition, The City of Manchester recently finalized construction of a solar array on the former landfill. This project is now the largest municipal solar array in the state with more than 8,000 panels that will supply approximately 3.8 million kilowatt-hours of clean energy to the power grid on an annual basis
Over the past few years, the City has also added energy-efficient buses to the Manchester Transit Authority fleet, cutting emissions from diesel buses by 96 percent and converting city lights to LED, reducing the city budget and eliminating 2,000 tons of CO2 emissions.
