Today during a Recycling Cart Roll Out Celebration, Kate Krebs from The Climate Group, announced that the City of Knoxville has been named a 'Model City' for the new household recycling program.

"The City of Knoxville has worked hard to create a sustainable recycling program that is easy for citizens to participate in, is efficient operationally and that will truly make an impact on diverting material from landfills," says Kate Krebs, director of sustainability with The Climate Group.

The Climate Group is an independent, nonprofit organization that works with government and business leaders to accelerate the transition to a low-carbon economy. This recognition is through the Recycle Together initiative with the American Beverage Association and is based on the City's recycling program components like using large, mobile containers with no sorting; including the higher value recyclable materials; incentives for participation and a strong promotion and community outreach program.

Knoxville is the first city in the Southeast The Climate Group has worked with from start to finish on the development of their program, and only the second city overall. A number of cities have programs that meet the criteria for the Model City program on their own, yet only one City from the Southeast is listed, so far.

The City has worked since 2008 on the new household curb-side, single-stream recycling program that is in the implementation phase now. The announcement came during an event celebrating recycling carts hitting the streets of Knoxville.

"We are indeed honored to receive this designation as a 'Model City,' " says Mayor Daniel Brown. "We are proud of our program and of the response of our citizens wanting to participate."

As of this morning, the City's program has 17,600 households signed-up to participate. The first round of cart delivery is happening through about the 20th of September, and the service is scheduled to start the first of October. Citizens can still sign up by calling 311 or visiting www.doyourpartwiththecart.com.