Press Release - Tuesday, November 15, 2005
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QUINN JOINS STUDENTS AND EDUCATORS TO HELP RAISE AWARENESS ABOUT RECYCLING AND WASTE REDUCTION
CHICAGO -- Lt. Governor Pat Quinn celebrated the 9th Annual America Recycles Day by presenting Hometown Hero Awards to some of Illinois' most successful recycling programs - Rhodes School in River Grove Illinois, the Town of Normal, the Illinois Recycling Association, and SCARCE, a non-profit organization in Glen Ellyn - for making waste reduction a year-round commitment.
40 Rhodes School students and Rhodes School Director of Technology and Recycling Program Coordinator John Mertes joined Quinn. For more than a decade, the student-run program at Rhodes School has been successful in reducing waste by collecting and sorting the school's paper, cardboard, plastic, glass, and aluminum waste.
Rhodes School has been recognized for its achievements in recycling and waste reduction, earning several awards including this year's U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Children's Environmental Health Excellence & Recognition Award.
Every year, Americans generate 236 million tons of garbage. While about 30 percent of it gets recycled or composted, 164 million tons are tossed away. In 2000, Illinois residents and businesses recycled 2,272,000 tons of paper—350 pounds per person—but 379 pounds per person were still sent to landfills.
There are many environmental and economic benefits of recycling. Recycling saves energy and natural resources, placing less stress on our landfills. Recycling also stimulates the economy by creating jobs, new businesses, and new products.
Michael Hall - Director of the Department of Public Works for the Town of Normal, Illinois - joined Quinn at the event to talk about the community's unique recycling program. In October, the Town of Normal opened a permanent computer and electronic equipment collection site. By the end of the year, the town expects to collect and recycle 100 tons of computers and electronic equipment.
The Town of Normal also operates a recycling program with the City of Bloomington. Together they recycle 5,000 tons of garbage a year.
Mike Mitchell, Executive Director of the Illinois Recycling Association, and Kay McKeen, Executive Director of SCARCE, a non-profit located in Glen Ellyn, Illinois, also attended the event.
The Illinois Recycling Association is a non-profit organization that educates the public on the responsible use of resources.
SCARCE collects used books, school and office supplies, crayons, and sneakers and redistributes them to those in need. This year, SCARCE recycled more than 9,000 sneakers. SCARCE also re-melts used and broken crayons to make "super crayons" for school children.
"Recycling is a year-long, personal and civic responsibility," Quinn said. "Today we salute those who have
taken on that responsibility here in Illinois. Whether you're a middle school student, a municipality, or a non-profit organization, you can be a steward of the environment and preserve the Land of Lincoln for generations to come."
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