Call2Recycle Announces Winners of 2008 Recycling Leadership Awards

Program participants recognized for rechargeable battery recycling excellence throughout the U.S. and Canada

ATLANTA, September 30, 2008 – Call2Recycle, the nation’s most comprehensive rechargeable battery and cellphone recycling program, today announced the recipients of the eighth annual “Recycling Leadership Awards.” The Recycling Leadership Awards recognize Call2Recycle’s community and public agency program participants for their exceptional efforts in rechargeable battery and cellphone recycling.

This year’s participants recognized for their exceptional recycling efforts in the Call2Recycle program include: King County Solid Waste Division (WA); Essex-Windsor Solid Waste Authority (Canada); Washington County Household Hazardous Waste Program (MN); Lancaster County Solid Waste Management Authority (PA); Fort Hood, Directorate of Public Works, Environmental Division (TX); Florida Division of Blind Services Bureau of Braille and Talking Book Library Services. The awards are divided into regional and national categories with four U.S. regional award winners and two national award winners – one from the U.S. and one from Canada.

“Year over year, the amount of rechargeable batteries collected through our Call2Recycle program has increased. We owe much of this success to the involvement of our community and public agency recycling partners and the strength of their individual efforts and contributions to the program,” said Linda Gabor, Director of Marketing & Media Relations, RBRC. “These participants are not only leaders in their local communities, but to other groups and communities looking for examples of outreach and education efforts upon which to base their own programs.”

Call2Recycle provides a convenient way to collect and recycle old cellphones and the used rechargeable batteries found in cordless electronic products, such as digital cameras, laptop computers, cordless power tools, two-way radios, cordless phones, cellphones, PDAs and camcorders. Administered by the Rechargeable Battery Recycling Corporation (RBRC), there are more than 50,000 enrolled collection sites throughout the U.S. and Canada where consumers can bring used rechargeable batteries and old cellphones for recycling.

2008 National Recycling Leadership Awards Recipients
The following groups were nationally recognized participants in the Call2Recycle program:

King County (WA) Solid Waste Division; Seattle, Washington
Since its enrollment in 2003, King County Solid Waste Division has recycled more than 33,000 pounds of rechargeable batteries through the Call2Recycle program, with more than 8,000 pounds collected this past year alone. In addition to a household hazardous waste facility that is open 6 days a week, King County operates a “Wastemobile” from March to October that serves 31 locations around the county and more than 287,000 King County residents.

Essex-Windsor Solid Waste Authority; Essex County, Ontario, Canada
More than 9,000 pounds of rechargeable batteries have been collected during Essex-Windsor Solid Waste Authority’s seven-year tenure with the program. The success of Essex-Windsor’s rechargeable battery recycling efforts has resulted in a continual year-over-year increase in collection results, with more than 4,000 pounds collected in 2007– almost 20 percent greater than the previous year.

2008 Regional Recycling Leadership Awards Recipients
The following groups were recognized on a regional level for their participation in the Call2Recycle program:

Washington County Household Hazardous Waste Program; St. Paul, Minnesota
Ongoing community involvement has helped Washington County’s Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) Program collect more than 8,000 pounds of rechargeable batteries since joining Call2Recycle in 2000. Through successful public education campaigns, like a “Residential Disposal Guide, and “Trash Today Newsletter” and partnership with GreenGuardian.com, the county collected almost 2,500 pounds of rechargeable batteries last year – a more than 500 percent increase over collection results in 2006.

Lancaster County Solid Waste Management Authority; Lancaster, Pennsylvania
The 2008 Recycling Leadership Award is not the first for Lancaster County Solid Waste Management Authority. Almost 30,000 pounds of rechargeable batteries have been recycled since the county first received an award in 2002. A participant of Call2Recycle since 2001, Lancaster County Solid Waste Management Authority recycled more than 5,300 pounds of rechargeable batteries last year. The county promotes rechargeable battery recycling through the distribution of battery curbside collection bags, a drive-through household hazardous waste facility that is open 6 days a week, a comprehensive recycling directory on its Web site and a Special Waste Brochure.

Fort Hood, Directorate of Public Works, Environmental Division; Fort Hood, Texas
The U.S. Army Fort Hood base has recycled more than 14 tons of rechargeable batteries through its Directorate of Public Works during its 5 years of participation in Call2Recycle. Base employees are provided with instructional pamphlets for recycling processes and conforming battery chemistries to fortify the integrity of the collection program, resulting with nearly 7,000 pounds of batteries collected in 2007.

Florida Division of Blind Services Bureau of Braille and Talking Book Library Services; Daytona Beach, Florida
Through educational outreach that includes brochures, DVDs, CDs and posters, the Florida Division of Blind Services Bureau of Braille and Talking Book Library Services has successfully promoted rechargeable battery recycling through Call2Recycle since 1999. As one of the largest users of rechargeable batteries in the Southeast, the Bureau of Braille and Talking Book Library Services has had a significant positive impact on the environment by keeping more than 4,000 pounds of rechargeable batteries out of the landfills in just the last year.

The Call2Recycle program is available to communities and public agencies without any associated fees. There are currently more than 6,000 communities and public agencies enrolled in the program in the U.S. and Canada. For more information on implementing a recycling program, contact RBRC toll free at 877-2-RECYCLE or visit www.call2recycle.org.

 

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