AF&PA Announces 2014 Paper Recycling Awards Winners

Redesigned Awards Honor Recycling Programs in 12 Categories

News provided by

Apr 21, 2014, 12:41 ET

WASHINGTON, April 21, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA) today announced the winners of its 2014 Recycling Awards.

Now in its ninth consecutive year, the AF&PA Recycling Awards recognize outstanding paper recycling programs in three categories: Business Leadership, Community and School. This year, the program was redesigned to reflect the diversity of paper recycling programs across the country. In each category, there are prizes for creativity, participation, partnerships, and volume of paper collected.

"The success of voluntary paper recovery for recycling is a collective effort," said AF&PA President and CEO Donna Harman. "Our annual Recycling Awards enable us to recognize programs from across the country that have achieved excellence in paper recycling."

The winners were selected by a panel of judges that included representatives from AF&PA company members, 2013 Recycling Award winner Bishop Watterson High School, Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA), Rhode Island Resource Recovery Corporation, Sustainable Packaging Coalition, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

"More paper is recovered for recycling from municipal solid waste streams than any other commodity. That is, in part, thanks to the tremendous efforts of those celebrated by the AF&PA's Recycling Awards," said Mathy Stanislaus, EPA's assistant administrator for the Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response.

This year's winners each receive a cash prize, an original piece of paper artwork, and gain media recognition through the award presentation in their local market.

2014 AF&PA Recycling Award Winners

Creativity – unique and innovative ways that have been used to market the program, raise awareness and generate interest

Community Winner – Township of Nutley (Nutley, N.J.)
School Winner – Greenhill School (Addison, Texas)
Business Winner – Michael Dunn Center (Kingston, Tenn.)

Participation – unique and innovative ways successful programs increased participation and tonnage collected

Community Winner – Vance Air Force Base (Enid, Okla.)
School Winner – Damacus Elementary School (Salem, Ohio)
Business – Michael Dunn Center (Kingston, Tenn.)

Partnership – innovative partnerships (community, business, non-profit organizations) used to promote increased recovery

Community Winner – Metro Waste Authority (Des Moines, Iowa)
School Winner – Ocosta High School (Westport, Wash.)
Business Winner – Michael Dunn Center (Kingston, Tenn.)

Volume – total amount of paper and paperboard collected

Community Winner – Township of Nutley (Nutley, N.J.)
School Winner – Damacus Elementary School (Salem, Ohio)
Business Winner – Curley's Foods, Inc. (Sioux City, Iowa)

Visit paperrecycles.org for paper recycling case studies and best practices on previous award-winning paper recycling programs; free recycling guides and classroom resources; paper recycling research and statistics. For up-to-date paper recycling news, follow @paperrecycles on Twitter and like PaperRecycles on Facebook.

The American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA) serves to advance a sustainable U.S. pulp, paper, packaging, and wood products manufacturing industry through fact-based public policy and marketplace advocacy. AF&PA member companies make products essential for everyday life from renewable and recyclable resources and are committed to continuous improvement through the industry's sustainability initiative - Better Practices, Better Planet 2020. The forest products industry accounts for approximately 4 percent of the total U.S. manufacturing GDP, manufactures approximately $210 billion in products annually, and employs nearly 900,000 men and women. The industry meets a payroll of approximately $50 billion annually and is among the top 10 manufacturing sector employers in 47 states. Visit AF&PA online at www.afandpa.org or follow us on Twitter @ForestandPaper.

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120725/DC46454LOGO

SOURCE American Forest & Paper Association