Lower Gwynedd Township

Recycling Ordinance Highlights

• Recycles newsprint and other paper, Numbers 1 through 7 plastics, aluminum and bi-metallic cans and glass.
• The township recently enacted an ordinance that specified a single hauler for the township. Waste Management, Inc. is currently in the third year of a three-year contract. Initially, township residents had the option to contract with their old hauler or be automatically signed up with the new hauler.
• Over the past three years (1996, 1997, 1998) township residents have recycled over 1,765 tons of materials.
• The recycling ordinance is enforced by the code enforcement officer with the township police department.
• Waste Management, Inc. make provisions for collecting leaves in the fall and spring.
• Contact the township office for additional information at 215-646-5302

When it was built in 1978, no one paid much attention to recycling at the Spring House Estates in Lower Gwynedd or anywhere else for that matter. Over the years, the attitude towards recycling has changed dramatically.

Today, the assisted living complex with 480 adult residents and a 100-bed medical facility, practices recycling that could serve as a blueprint for how it should be done. The complex provides a centralized collection point for newspapers, glass and plastic. Residents bring the recyclables to the area where there are clearly marked containers for each category to be recycled. In addition, there is a separate dumpster for cardboard.

The administrators of the complex are always looking for additional materials to recycle. Recently, they started a program to recycle old fluorescent light tubes. Because of its activist approach to recycling, Lower Gwynedd Township awarded the "Excellence in Recycling Award" for 2003 to Spring House Estates.

• Visit the Lower Gwynedd Township web site.