30,000 students in its paper recycling program. A remarkable 506 tons were collected in a school year, an average of 37.51 pounds per student. “Many teachers have a ‘recycler of the week’ assigned to keep track of loading and unloading the bins,” said Jo Ann Jackson, event coordinator for Keep Williamson Beautiful in Franklin, Tenn. “They have worked hard to keep the paper out of the janitors’ hands.” Keep Nebraska Beautiful reached out to 130 schools that are part of its Litter-Free School Zone Program with AF&PA school recycling materials and a new awards program for participating schools. Keep Colorado Springs Beautiful coordinated the KAB/AF&PA program in 35 schools with 39,000 students, developing a highly successful program, with collection assistance from Waste Management, Inc., and U.S. Waste Industries, Inc. And in Cincinnati, Keep Cincinnati Beautiful recovered 945 tons of paper from 61 schools in Hamilton County during the 2005/2006 school year.
(Above) Members of the Poplar Grove Green Team participate in Keep Williamson (County, Tenn.) Beautiful’s American Forest & Paper Association’s school recycling program. (Photos courtesy of Keep Williamson Beautiful)
Additional training was presented at the Midyear Affiliates Forum on the “Benefits of Paper Recycling,” further educating affiliate leaders. KAB National Awards Programs >
The Keep America Beautiful National Awards recognize outstanding programs that educate the public about litter prevention and “reduce, reuse, recycle” initiatives, and that organize local volunteer efforts to clean up, beautify and improve local community environments. Six first-place awards were presented to Keep America Beautiful affiliates that demonstrated exceptional leadership in their communities: Keep Cincinnati Beautiful, Cincinnati, Ohio; Keep Riverside Clean & Beautiful, Riverside, Calif.; Keep Albany-Dougherty Beautiful, Albany, Ga.; Keep Lewisville Beautiful, Lewisville, Texas; Keep Kingsport Beautiful, Kingsport, Tenn.; and Keep Beatrice Beautiful, Beatrice, Neb. In addition, KAB also recognized more than 80 other outstanding organizations and individuals for their achievements in promoting litter prevention, recycling, beautification and community improvement, and environmental stewardship. The Honorable Larry E. Potter, presiding judge of the Memphis/Shelby County, Tenn., Environmental Court, received Keep America Beautiful’s Iron Eyes Cody Award. This award honors outstanding men for their lifetime leadership in raising public awareness of the importance of litter prevention, beautification and
community improvement. Judge Potter is considered an authority on the subject of environmental law and is known as “The Father of Environmental Courts.” Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection Secretary Kathleen A. McGinty received KAB’s Mrs. Lyndon B. Johnson Award, the 50th woman so honored. The award is presented annually in commemoration of the former First Lady’s exceptional leadership in litter prevention and beautification activities. “Lady Bird Johnson’s contribution to preserving America’s environment, beautifying national parks and inner cities and involving all levels of society and business in those efforts, are a model for our programs to make Pennsylvania a more beautiful place to live, work and play,” said McGinty. McGinty shapes the litter prevention and beautification efforts of Pennsylvania Governor Edward G. Rendell and serves as co-chair of Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful, a position she has held since its founding in 2004. One of McGinty’s earliest initia-
tives was launching the Great Pennsylvania Cleanup as part of Keep America Beautiful’s Great American Cleanup™. During the Great Pennsylvania Cleanup’s first three years, more than 454,000 volunteers collected more than 12.5 million pounds of trash and litter, cleaned almost 43,000 miles of roadway, and planted more than 22,000 trees, bulbs and other plants. Keep America Beautiful’s Professional Leadership Awards, the highest honor given by KAB, went to Robert Phelps, executive director of Keep Arkansas Beautiful, and George Stilphen, executive director of Keep Winston-Salem Beautiful. Joanne Weik, a long-time volunteer with Keep Texas Beautiful and local affiliates Keep Jackson Lake Beautiful, Keep Angleton Beautiful and Keep Brazoria County Beautiful, received the Volunteer of the Year Award. (Above left) Keep America Beautiful President G. Raymond Empson presents Memphis/Shelby County, Tenn., Judge Larry E. Potter with the Iron Eyes Cody Award. (Above right) Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection Secretary Kathleen A. McGinty addresses the audience members at KAB’s National Conference upon receiving the Mrs. Lyndon B. Johnson Award. (Photos courtesy of Cable Risdon, Risdon Photography)
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