Vancouver, WA – Michael D. Smith of Battle Ground has won an iPad Mini for taking an online quiz testing how much Clark County residents know about recycling. A random number generator selected Smith from approximately 2,000 people who took the quiz. Clark County Department of Environmental Services confirmed he was among those who received a passing grade by answering at least 75 percent of the questions correctly. The quiz is part of Environmental Services’ Recycling Done Right project to decrease the amount of non-recyclables in blue residential recycling carts. From mid-April to May of this year, 10 teams did quick visual scans of more than 14,000 recycling carts ready for curbside pickup. The teams looked for plastic bags, soiled paper products, glass, block foam and other items. Tags were placed on inspected carts, either complimenting residents for doing a good job recycling or asking them not to place plastic bags and other items in their carts. Glass must be placed in a separate container at the curb. Plastic bags can be taken to local grocery stores that accept bags for recycling. Bags are not accepted in the curbside collection program. In addition, 113,000 Recycle Done Right postcards were sent informing residents of the problems that plastic bags, glass and other materials create during recycling processing. “Plastic bags are a real problem,” said Sally Fisher, an environmental outreach specialist. “They jam up the sorting machine at the recycling center and cause a lot of delays.” These delays are costly and can, over time, lead to an increase in recycling costs. Through the Recycling Done Right project, the number of plastic bags received at the recycling center from inspected routes decreased by 40 percent and the overall amount of recycling contamination decreased by 22 percent. “This is huge success,” said Don Benton, Clark County’s Environmental Services director. “I’m pleased to award a community member for participating in our online quiz. Even better is to see the department working in concert with our community to decrease contamination in the recycling program.” Information on how to recycle more than 100 items is available on the county website at www.clark.wa.gov/recycle/recyclingA-Z.html.