TRENTON — If you are among the growing number of people who have a Smartphone or tablet, you can download a Mercer County App that puts recycling and special waste collection details and more at your fingertips, anytime you want them.
”Mercer County is pleased to announce that we’ve just launched a mobile app that contains all of the information people need to know, tailored specifically to their neighborhoods, about our residential recycling services,” said Mercer County Executive Brain M. Hughes.
Called ‘my-waste’™, the app lets mobile device users download the full range of information that is normally on the Mercer County Improvement Authority’s website including residents’ collection schedule. Residents who reside in towns that participate in the Mercer County Recycling Program don’t have to go hunting for the printed schedule or be sitting in front of their computers. Instead, by downloading ‘my-waste’™, residents can check details for regular and special collections, and events for household hazardous waste or e-waste days, and more.
Special features of the Mercer County ‘my-waste’™ App include a search function that lets residents quickly find information about what to do with a regular or out-of-the-ordinary item. “The Mercer County ‘my-waste’™ App also includes a special ‘report-a-problem’ function that allows residents to report non-emergency problems like missed collections and illegal dumping,” said Phillip S. Miller, executive director of the Mercer County Improvement Authority. “The report-a-problem feature uses the Smartphone’s GPS positioning system and built-in camera. All they have to do is select the report-a-problem function, take a picture and the problem is automatically e-mailed to us. In coming months, we anticipate adding more special features as well as including useful countywide information.”
The Mercer County ‘my-waste’™ download is free. Residents can get it by going to www.my-waste.mobi/NJ-Mercercounty and then select the icon link either to the iPhone/iPad or Android App store. The ‘my-waste’™ version for the BlackBerry is coming when RIM releases its new operating system, expected in early 2013.
”Once residents have downloaded the app, they can set it up to give them regular reminders for any of the collection programs,” said Dan Napoleon, chief of recycling for MCIA. “For example, they can set a reminder for the day that recycling is collected or they can set up alerts just for household hazardous or electronic waste collection days.
”This is a new way for us to connect with residents about our resource recovery and waste diversion programs. We’ll be able to update the information on the app as necessary during the year, so it will always be current. Residents will never forget a collection day and that should lead to increased recycling rates. Everybody wins,” he said.
Mercer County is adding the ‘my-waste’™ App to its communication outreach activities. It will continue to distribute printed materials and have information on the website for residents who prefer traditional promotional and educational materials.
For more information, call the Mercer County Improvement Authority at 609-278-8100 or visit www.mcianj.com.
