Budgets are tighter than ever, and recycling isn't always a priority project.

But if the nominations for the Green City Awards are any indication, there's a lot of innovative thought out there to communicate, educate and maximize communities' recycling effort.

We at Waste & Recycling News, along with Republic Services, are launching the Green City Awards that will be presented at the Residential Recycling Conference later this month. The awards recognize achievement and effectiveness for a community in educating its residents about recycling and what the city can help them do.

We're announcing the finalists -- three in each of three different-sized communities -- in this issue. They're all very impressive efforts. The decisions were tough because there are many other deserving programs that couldn't make the cut. In going through all the nominations, I was struck by the wide range of ideas generated and challenges faced.

Many communities have strong newsletters and websites, and that's key. They give away gifts with recycling messages and reminder magnets. There are lots of clever mascots.

But there also are many other innovative ideas I came across, often from communities that didn't make the finalist list. One community has a special pickup for the disabled and elderly. Another does recycling rebates as an incentive. One newsletter explains what recyclables are made into.

And the wide range of community demographics make for a wide range of challenges. Many need to communicate messages in several languages. There are tourist-oriented communities, and cities with heavy multifamily dwellings. Rural areas have a whole different set of challenges.

Smaller communities, perhaps by necessity, seemed to be even more innovative than their bigger counterparts. One small community's recycling efforts, which are pretty decent, are headed up by a high school senior.

In tough fiscal times and with everyone's busy lives, communities can't count on recycling just happening. Education and communication are so critical. And the anecdotal evidence of the Green City Awards is that a lot of communities across North America are getting that message.

Allan Gerlat is editor of Waste & Recycling News. Past installments of this column are collected in the Inbox archive.