Harrisburg, PA – The Professional Recyclers of Pennsylvania (PROP) is pleased to announce the winner of the 2019 Daniel G. Weisenbach Environmental Stewardship Award.  This award was created to honor the memory of one of the country’s truest innovative leaders in environmental awareness and recycled products, Dan Weisenbach.  A tireless leader not only in Pennsylvania and Ohio, but all over the country, his commitment to recycling was admired by all.  It is our hope that all winners of this award will carry on his work ethic and recycling passion.

Designed to recognize Pennsylvania’s most outstanding recycling and composting programs, this award seeks to recognize exemplary performance by municipalities, businesses, individuals, or organizations throughout Pennsylvania in the areas of recycling, waste reduction, reuse, and composting programs.

This year, PROP is pleased to announce the winner is Abington Township.

Abington Township has been at the forefront of municipal recycling in Pennsylvania for over 30 years. Their successes began when they became the first municipality in the United States to collect and directly market residential curbside mixed paper.  They created one of the best and most comprehensive composting programs in the area, collecting leaves with six leaf vacuums and curbside yard waste on a weekly basis 9 months out of the year.  This has resulted in 12,000 tons of high-grade compost annually.  Abington also implemented a variable rate pay-as-you-throw program that was so successful it allowed the township to create a sustainable enterprise fund to support their programs well into the future while providing a clean, source separated recycling program that continues to contain waste and recycling costs.

Abington has demonstrated that it is possible to navigate the ever-changing recycling industry by modifying existing programs and adding new ones.