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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