“ZeroSortComeTogether:” This Grand Prize-Winning submission is a take on the Beatles’ popular album cover of "Abbey Road."

By Harry Kane

A city wide recycling contest encouraging the residents of Somerville to generate creative photos of the new 65-gallon wheeled carts was a “one of a kind contest,” Mayor Curtatone said.

After a fun competition between Somerville residents the new zero-sort recycling program ceremony was held on Feb. 7 at City Hall. Of the 37 entries, eight winning photos were selected to portray the new recycling initiative.

“I’m extremely impressed by how residents of all ages stepped up to the plate,” Mayor Curtatone said. “Everyone who participated is helping us to raise the profile of this important city initiative.”

Those who won the contest received certificates of exemplary zero-sortness including small gifts and 6-inch-tall mini-toters. “We once again have proof of the creativity of our residents,” Mayor Curtatone said.

“There was a grand prize, second place and third place and then there is an age 12 and under and then four special categories that brings it to eight winners. There were 18 total people behind those photos,” Denise Taylor, New Media and ResiStat Coordinator said.

The grand prize winners created an homage to the Abbey Road album cover. Deborah Baskin and her son were huge Beatles fans and were inspired to create a photo alluding to the famous photo of the four Beatles walking across the zebra crossing.

“One of the reasons that I was so excited about the photo contest was because I live on the Cambridge line and I could see my neighbors with their big zero-sort containers and I was just envious. So when we finally got ours in Somerville I was so excited, I had to participate,” Baskin said.

The first update on the impact of the new program that was initiated in October confirms Somerville’s desire to recycle. “Recycling is up significantly since the city wide roll out of zero-sort,” Mayor Curtatone said. “In December we collected 555 tons of recycling alone, which is 46 percent more than we collected per month before zero-sort began.”

The city hopes to grow to a 50 percent increase as they deliver to more buildings in the city.

“We’ve always recycled, but I have to say it was the fact that we don’t have to sort it now. And, that we have this awesome huge bin that definitely increased our recycling,” Baskin said.

The day after the ceremony, the Mayor and musical group, The Love Toters, arrived at Baskin’s house to take out the recycling. The Love Toters performed The Love Tote song, a take-off of The Love Boat TV show theme song. “Jimmy Del Ponte was dressed up as Captain Stubing and they did their own version, which was really hysterical,” Baskin said.

The Grand Prize winners who included Deborah Baskin, Liam Campbell, Fiona Campbell, Theo Gounden-Rock, Zara Gounden-Rock, Izzy Larsen and Ben Larsen also received a $50 gift certificate to the Winter Farmers Market in Somerville.

The Second Prize was created by Louise Marks, Stewart Faulkner, Faye Bergsman and Ed Pinkham and entitled, The Magic of Recycling Barrels of Fun!

“MagicOfRecycling:” Louise Marks and her “lovely assistants” took Second Prize for this rendition of a popular magic act.

Louise Marks thought of a fun way to express her fondness for the new recycling program. “I got this idea and what I did is I put two barrels end to end and I got in one end with my head sticking out and I had a friend of mine get in the other end with his feet sticking out and I have my partner in the middle sawing us in half. I just thought it was funny and it was easy to do.”

The best Tote-on-the-town moment went to Sarah Hutchinson and Erin Scholomiti.

Sarah Hutchinson works at Sacco’s Bowl Haven in Davis Square. “We had a lot of fun with our tote. We just walked around Davis Square with it for a while. People were helping us think of ideas. I brought it in there [bowling alley] and everyone was really excited about the project. I just thought it would be funny, recycling bin and bowling.”

Justin Grunau and Lisa McFarren made a love tote that was most likely to inspire holiday recycling. “What were going for is two dogs pulling the tote like reindeer and we got a lot of pictures that looked like that, that actually looked like to dogs pulling a sled. It was just the goofiest, even though it didn’t really do what we were going for it still looked the funniest,” Grunau said.

– Video by Harry Kane