Dublin residents and their neighbors throughout Alameda County are some of the best recyclers in the country, currently diverting 69% of their trash from landfill, and now they have the opportunity to prove it. StopWaste.Org recently announced the launch of the Ready Set Recycle Contest, which gives residents a chance to win prizes up to $500 for keeping their trash free of recyclables and compostables.

During regular garbage collection days from April through June, 2011, the Ready Set Recycle Prize Crew will select random garbage bins and separate the contents into three categories: recyclables, compostables and garbage. Households with the least amount of recyclables and compostables in their garbage relative to the whole bin will be declared the winners.

Multiple winners will be announced each week and will receive cash or prizes, and the households with the least amount of recyclables and compostables in their garbage overall will receive prizes of up to $500.

The Prize Crew will notify residents that they are eligible by leaving a hangtag on their garbage bin with information about how to participate in the contest or decline participation if desired. A hangtag signals that the route has been randomly selected; only a percentage of bins on that route will be sorted and have the opportunity to win.

Alameda County residents can also participate in the contest and win prizes by taking the “I Recycle” Pledge online at ReadySetRecycleContest.Org. The website also offers helpful recycling tips, resources and a quiz to test residents’ recycling IQ.

On the website residents will also be given the option to volunteer their home for a garbage sort. This registration does not guarantee that garbage will be sorted, but it will enter registrants into the random selection process as if they had received a hangtag.

“Alameda County has already reduced the amount of materials it sends to the landfill by about one third since 2000, and 93 percent of our residents report that they recycle regularly,” said Jeff Becerra, Senior Communications Manager at StopWaste.Org.

According to Becerra, Alameda County residents set their own voter-mandated goal of diverting 75 percent of all waste from county landfills, and the Ready Set Recycle Contest aims to inspire residents to realize and ultimately surpass this goal. “We hope participants will share recycling tips and encourage friends and neighbors to properly sort their waste – not just putting recyclables and compostables in their respective bins, but also keeping these bins free of trash contamination,” said Becerra.