March 13, 2013

Houston Selected Winner and the Fan Favorite in Bloomberg Philanthropies Mayors Challenge
$1 Million Prize Awarded for the City's Revolutionary One Bin for All Idea

Thanks to your support, Houston's One Bin for All idea has been named one of the five winners in the Bloomberg Philanthropies' Mayors Challenge, a competition to inspire American cities to generate innovative ideas that solve major challenges and improve city life - and that ultimately can be shared with other cities to improve the well-being of the nation.

Houston will receive a $1 million innovation prize to help implement its One Bin for All idea and as the winner of the Mayors Challenge Fan Favorite Selection, Houston will also receive a $50K in-kind grant from IBM to support the implementation of its One Bin For All idea.

One Bin for All is a first-of-its kind innovation that will revolutionize the way the City of Houston handles trash, achieving high-volume recycling and waste diversion, reduced greenhouse gas emissions and lower operating costs. More information will be forthcoming as the program moves forward.

One Bin for All utilizes game-changing technology to separate trash from recyclables, allowing residents to discard all materials in one bin. The anticipated end result is a dramatic increase in the amount of waste diverted from our landfills. Implementation will be achieved through a public/private partnership.

For more information contact Baker Goldsmith in the Mayor's Office of Sustainability at baker.goldsmith@houstontx.gov. To learn more about recycling in Houston, visit www.houstontx.gov/solidwaste/recycling.html and www.greenhoustontx.gov.