Public-Private Sector Partnership Aims to Boost Magazine and Catalog Recycling City of Milwaukee and Waukesha County Selected for Phase II Rollout of National Model SUSSEX, Wis., April 21 /PRNewswire/ -- Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle joined Quad/Graphics Chairman and CEO Tom Quadracci at the company's Sussex plant to launch a campaign with national business and non-profit partners aimed at increasing recycling of magazines and catalogs in metropolitan Milwaukee, with a focus on the City of Milwaukee and Waukesha County. This innovative partnership was created by national partners that include the National Recycling Coalition, Time Inc., International Paper and recyclers FCR and Recycle America Alliance (RAA). Locally, the partnership will include Quad/Graphics as well as the City of Milwaukee and Waukesha County. (Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20020701/IPLOGO ) Building on the area's strong record of recycling and high magazine readership, the ReMix -- Recycling Magazines is Excellent -- campaign, is designed to inform residents that they can easily include magazines and catalogs with their other paper recycling. By doing so, they will divert magazines and catalogs from landfills and provide significant economic benefits to the local community. "It's an honor for Wisconsin that the Milwaukee metro area was chosen to participate in this national recycling partnership," said Gov. Doyle. "With our high rates of household recycling, strong local recycling programs, and exceptional paper and printing industries, Wisconsin is well-positioned to make the ReMix magazine and catalog recycling effort a success in our largest urban area." Gov. Doyle encouraged residents who are not already including magazines and catalogs in their paper recycling to begin by simply putting them with their other paper to be recycled. "Quad/Graphics has long been committed to making the print-production process environmentally compatible and sustainable, so it's particularly gratifying to join a valued client like Time Inc., and one of our largest suppliers, International Paper, in educating end users about recycling opportunities," said Quadracci. "As a printer of magazines and catalogs, we support the ReMix campaign and are proud to do our part in raising awareness and encouraging the recovery of precious renewable resources." For the national ReMix partners, the environmental benefit was a key factor in the decision to sponsor the public awareness program. "As a committed steward of the environment, International Paper partnered with Time Inc. to research current trends in magazine recycling, and we discovered tremendous opportunity to divert used magazines and catalogs from landfills," said David Struhs, International Paper vice president of environmental affairs. "When a joint study suggested that one out of six magazines sold gets recycled, we partnered with Time Inc. to develop this ReMix campaign to promote the ease and benefits of magazine and catalog recycling." International Paper and Time Inc. joined with the National Recycling Coalition to research major U.S. cities' recycling rates and infrastructures to determine the ideal location for the launch of the ReMix program. The pilot program was launched in Boston and in Prince George's County, Md., in 2004. The success of the pilot in increasing the recovery of magazines and catalogs in curbside recycling programs led the partners to expand the program to the Milwaukee metropolitan area, where an effective recycling program has been in place for many years. "According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, about 2 million tons of magazines are produced each year in the United States, but only about 32 percent are recycled," said National Recycling Coalition Executive Director Kate Krebs. "Our national research shows that Americans support recycling, but they are often uncertain about what can be recycled. That's why the National Recycling Coalition has brought government agencies, leading companies and advocacy organizations together in several communities around the nation to educate the public about just how easy it is to recycle magazines and catalogs." The program not only benefits the Milwaukee metro area, but also is based on the core environmental values of its major sponsors. "Our employees use renewable resources to make products people depend on every day, including the use of recovered paper fiber for the manufacture of a variety of products," Struhs said. "International Paper is committed to raising public awareness about the value of recycling all kinds of paper products, and communities benefit when we can partner with customers like Time Inc. and Quad/Graphics to pursue this common goal." David Refkin, director of sustainable development at Time Inc., said, "We're excited to be part of this effort to promote and increase the recycling of magazines in metro Milwaukee. This initiative ties into the primary goals of sustainable development -- economic and environmental sustainability and social responsibility. Metro Milwaukee will save money, and waste will be diverted from landfills and recycled into new paper products. Additionally, we are thrilled that our sister company, Time Warner Cable, will assist the ReMix partnership in promoting the benefits of magazine and catalog recycling." "Parenting magazine covers 'what really matters to moms,' and we know that mothers are very concerned about issues that effect the environment in which they are raising their children," said David Kieselstein, president, The Parenting Group/Time Inc. "Recycling is one way everyone can make a difference in their own communities. Since parents model the behavior that their children will adopt, we hope that Milwaukee-area parents will look at recycling in general -- and magazine recycling in particular -- as a project for the whole family." The national partnership members, along with recycling processors FCR and Recycling Alliance America, developed public service advertisements to encourage curbside recycling of magazines and catalogs. The ads, which will appear in various magazines, including Parenting, TIME and Sports Illustrated, specifically target Milwaukee-area residents. In addition to these ad placements, the City of Milwaukee and Waukesha County will coordinate public awareness efforts through residential outreach activities. City of Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett is committed to regional cooperation on a variety of issues, including recycling. "I strongly believe in the benefits of regional cooperation and I encourage the City of Milwaukee's recycling program to continue to work with the Coalition to raise the public's awareness of recycling opportunities through innovative educational campaigns like the Remix, Recycling Magazines is Excellent program, to urge citizens to recycle their magazines and catalogs," said Mayor Barrett. "This benefits not only the environment, but in Milwaukee, it benefits the local economy and City taxpayers through the terms of the City's recycling contract." Waukesha County Executive Dan Finley said, "It is important for residents to participate in community recycling efforts and to expand their collection habits to include magazines and catalogs. Through cooperative efforts with our local and national partners, the ReMix campaign will serve as a catalyst for the reuse of such items, which will foster environmental stewardship and a strong economy regionally. I am pleased that Waukesha County was asked to be a partner in such a worthy cause." "Recycle America Alliance is pleased to be a partner in this effort," said Brian Fielkow, executive vice president of Recycle America Alliance. "As the country's largest recycler, we look forward to being involved in this public-private partnership and view it as another venue for us to raise awareness about the benefits of recycling and environmental stewardship." The partners will measure the recovery of magazines and catalogs in the City of Milwaukee and in Waukesha County. Currently, paper represents about 63 percent of the residential tonnage that is recycled by the City of Milwaukee and Waukesha County. However, with about 30 percent of magazines and catalogs recycled, the ReMix partners see a clear opportunity to create an exemplary program that other cities will want to emulate. Remix is coordinated locally by the Wisconsin Be SMART Coalition. Residents who want more information about ReMix and magazine and catalog recycling can visit the Web site at http://www.besmart.org/ or call toll free 866-917-6278. About the partners: Time Inc., the prominent magazine publishing company, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Time Warner Inc., the world's leading media and entertainment company. Its businesses include interactive services, cable systems, films and entertainment, television networks, and publishing. For more information, visit the Time Inc. Web site at http://www.timewarner.com/. Parenting, with a paid circulation of 2.15 million and a readership of over 11 million each month, is the nation's leading magazine for moms. It is the flagship magazine of The Parenting Group, a division of Time Inc. Founded in 1978, the National Recycling Coalition, Inc. (NRC) is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization representing all the diverse interests committed to the common goal of maximizing recycling to achieve the benefits of resource conservation, solid waste reduction, environmental protection, energy conservation, and social and economic development. Its 4,000 members include recycling and environmental organizations; large and small businesses; federal, state and local governments; and individuals. The NRC is dedicated to the advancement and improvement of recycling, and also source reduction, composting and reuse, by providing technical information, education, training, outreach and advocacy services to its members in order to conserve resources and benefit the environment. For additional information about the NRC, please visit http://www.nrc-recycle.org/. International Paper is the world's largest paper and forest products company. Businesses include paper, packaging and forest products. As one of the largest private forest landowners in the world, the company manages its forests under the principles of the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (R) (SFI) program, a system that ensures the continual planting, growing and harvesting of trees while protecting wildlife, plants, soil, air and water quality. Headquartered in the United States, International Paper has operations in over 40 countries and sells its products in more than 120 nations. For more information on International Paper, visit http://www.internationalpaper.com/. Sussex, Wisconsin-based Quad/Graphics is the world's largest privately held printer of magazines, catalogs, direct mail and other commercial products and a recognized leader in environmentally sound business practices. Throughout its 34 years of operation, the printer has successfully demonstrated that it can operate profitably while being a good steward of environment. Case in point: Between 1990 and 2003, the company has reduced gravure air emissions by 93 percent while increasing production 661 percent. As a result, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has recognized Quad/Graphics as the premier printer for minimizing gravure air emissions. As far as recycling, Quad/Graphics lets nothing go to waste. The printer recycles 98 percent of all solids in its plants, including plastic, fiber, wood, metal, fluorescent light bulbs and concrete, and nearly 100 percent of all office and print-production waste. Currently, the company is installing the nation's largest paper collection system of its kind. The system, which is attached to Quad/Graphics' Sussex headquarters location, creates compressed bales of paper for recycling. Next month, Quad/Graphics will accept the Rainforest Alliance's Sustainable Standard-Setter Award for the company's role in promoting responsible management of forests for the harvesting of pulp used in the paper-making process. Quad/Graphics operates printing facilities on three continents and employs 12,000 people. Annual sales total $1.9 billion. For more information on Quad/Graphics visit http://www.qg.com/. FCR, Inc. (FCR), a wholly owned subsidiary of Casella Waste Systems, Inc. designs, builds and operates materials recovery facilities (MRFs) that sort, process and market recyclable materials including newspapers, corrugated cardboard, office paper, aluminum and steel cans, plastic, glass and aseptic packaging containers. These materials are then sold to various end users/manufacturers and recycled into new products. FCR provides quality processing and superior marketing of recovered materials in safe, clean facilities. The division employs about 1,000 people and processes over 1 million tons per year of recyclables at 22 facilities in 14 states. Recycle America Alliance, LLC, is a subsidiary of Waste Management, Inc. It is North America's largest recycler, currently handling 8 million tons of commodities annually through a nationwide network of 140 recycling facilities. As a one-stop resource, Recycle America provides a comprehensive range of services: materials collection, optical sorting through single stream processing technology facilities management, program development, brokerage services and price-stabilizing risk management tools. Recycle America's leadership is a product of its unique combination of financial stability, industry knowledge, advanced technologies and market relationships that combine to deliver more affordable and adaptable service options. The City of Milwaukee is recognized nationally for its innovative residential recycling program. Starting with 36,000 households in 1989, the program grew to over 190,000 households by 1995. Nearly 300,000 tons of material have been collected and recycled from Milwaukee households in the past 10 years, with 60 percent of that tonnage being paper. The City has also has active programs for composting yard trimmings and recycling other commodities including oil and oil filters, tires, antifreeze and computers. Milwaukee is also a participant in the Nike "Reuse a Shoe" program, collecting over 5,000 old athletic shoes in six months to be recycled into playground material. The City has also been recognized as a winner in the 2004 U.S. Conference of Mayor's "Cans for Cash" Challenge for its innovative public awareness program that resulted in over 559,000 pounds of cans being collected in a two week period. The City of Milwaukee received $10,000 for its recycling education program. Part of the public awareness campaign was creating the longest, consecutive line of aluminum cans which resulted in the City of Milwaukee being recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records. Waukesha County demonstrates recycling leadership by processing about 24,000 tons of residential recyclables annually for 25 of its municipalities at the County-owned Materials Recycling Facility (MRF). More than 1,000 semi-trailer loads of materials are processed into new products such as newspapers, tissue and toweling, insulation, new cans and bottles, carpeting and fiber for clothing. Energy saved from MRF-processed recyclables equals the average amount of energy use consumed by 3,800 households each year. http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20020701/IPLOGODATASOURCE: International Paper CONTACT: City of Milwaukee: Cecilia Gilbert, +1-414-286-3261; Waukesha County: Meghan Walsh, +1-262-548-7902; Quad-Graphics: Claire Ho, +1-414-566-2955; National Recycling Coalition Inc.: Kate Krebs, +1-703-407-6112; Time Inc: Susan Ollinick, +1-212-522-8470; International Paper: Kathi Rowzie, +1-901-419-4086; FCR: Dean Duffy, +1-704-379-0600; Recycle America Alliance LLC: Heather Browne, +1-713-265-1514 Web site: http://www.internationalpaper.com/ http://www.besmart.org/ http://www.timewarner.com/ http://www.nrc-recycle.org/ http://www.qg.com/

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