America Recycles Day Billboard Contest Announced for Fall 2017

The 8th Annual America Recycles Day Billboard Design Contest is underway. Pictured is the winning design for 2016 designed by Madison Powell, an 8th grader from Valley Point Middle School.

The Dalton-Whitfield Solid Waste Authority is pleased to announce the 8th Annual America Recycles Day Billboard Contest for 6th, 7th, and 8th graders attending public or private schools participating in the Target Recycling at School program in Whitfield County. 

Students are invited to design a billboard in keeping with the spirit of America Recycles Day, which is celebrated yearly on November 15. The top design out of the three grade levels will be displayed during the month of November on two billboards in Whitfield County.

Schools in Whitfield County eligible to participate include Eastbrook Middle, New Hope Middle, North Whitfield Middle, Valley Point Middle, Westside Middle, Dalton Middle, Northstar School, Crossroads Academy, Christian Heritage School, and Learning Tree School.

During the 2016 contest, Valley Point Middle School 8th grader, Madison Powell, won first place overall. Her design, chosen out of 91entries includes the phrase “I want to be recycled” which was one of the themes of the contest. The artwork is eye catching and very colorful showing an aluminum can that is dreaming of being recycled into a rocket ship traveling in outer space.

(See previous winning billboard designs here.)

Themes for this year are, “I recycle! Do you?” and “I recycle with Recycling Ben!” First, second, and third place prizes will be given in each of the three grade levels. The grand prize is chosen from the three first place winners. 

The Contest Guide with two versions of the official entry form can be downloaded at www.DWSWA.org. The deadline for entries is October 16, 2017. There is no entry fee, however, an official entry form needs to be included with the artwork. Only artwork submitted directly from a school representative will be accepted. Winners will be announced on October 23. 

For more information contact Liz Swafford, Recycling and Education Program Coordinator, at 706-278-5001 or e-mail: lswafford@dwswa.org. To learn more about America Recycles Day visit www.americarecyclesday.org.

Three Local Schools Place in Nationwide Recycling Contest

Three local schools make it to the Top Five in Georgia

(Dalton, GA, February 28, 2013) – Keep America Beautiful, Inc., the nation's largest volunteer-based community action and education organization, has announced the winners of "Recycle-Bowl", the first comprehensive nationwide recycling competition for elementary-, middle- and high-school students. 65 schools in Georgia participated at the state level recycling as much as possible during the weeks of October 15, 2012 to November 9, 2012. Three local schools placed in the Top 5 in Georgia taking second, third, and fourth place.

Public and private schools in Whitfield County currently participate in Target Recycling at School, a free recycling collection service offered by the Dalton-Whitfield Solid Waste Authority. With the assistance of the DWSWA's recycling center, 35 local schools were registered for the 2nd annual nationwide competition. Each school received a kit to help promote recycling in their school with posters and educational activities.

At the end of the competition period the weights of the recyclables collected at each school were reported to Recycle-Bowl staff. The national winner was Taylor Primary in Kokomo, Indiana. A full list of statewide winners can be found at www.Recycle-Bowl.org. Below are the top five schools in the state of Georgia for Recycle-Bowl 2012:

Georgia's Top 5 Recycle-Bowl Competitors:
1. Kingsley Elementary School, Dunwoody, GA
2. New Hope Middle School, Dalton, GA
3. Dug Gap Elementary School, Dalton, GA
4. Learning Tree Elementary School, Dalton, GA
5. Brighten Academy, Douglasville, GA

The total amount of school only recyclables recovered nationwide during the 2012 competition added up to 4.5 million pounds, which in turn prevented the release of nearly 1,717 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (MTCO2E). In real-world terms, this reduction in greenhouse gases is equivalent to the annual emissions from 334 passenger cars.

"Keep America Beautiful is pleased with the great momentum Recycle-Bowl achieved in its second year, thanks to the effort of students, teachers and school administrators across America," said Matt McKenna, president and CEO of Keep America Beautiful. "Recycle-Bowl provides teachers with a great opportunity to integrate math, science and sustainability lessons into classroom curricula through experiential education as well as a way to introduce recycling into a school's general operations."

2012 Billboard Design Contest Winner Announced

Eastbrook Middle School 8th grader, Brisa Mandujano, is the overall winner of the 2012 America Recycles Day Billboard Design Contest hosted by the Dalton-Whitfield Solid Waste Authority’s program Target Recycling at School.

The design chosen out of 193 entries includes the phrase, “Recycle, it’s the natural thing to do” which was the theme for America Recycles Day 2011. It features a group of students passing recyclable items, like bottles and cans, to each other and placing them in a green recycling bin.

The winning design will be displayed on two billboards in the Whitfield County area for at least one month. This is the third year of the design contest open to Whitfield County middle school students in 6th, 7th, and 8th grade attending either a public or private school that recycles with Target Recycling.

The billboard design contest had a 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winner from each grade level. The nine students, listed below, received a certificate of participation and a gift bag with America Recycles Day items and products made from recycled materials. (Their entries can be seen at the end of this article.)

6th grade:

• 1st Place – Jessie Zambrano, Dalton Middle School
• 2nd Place – Philip Le, Dalton Middle School
• 3rd Place – Viviana Juijon, Dalton Middle School

7th grade:

• 1st Place – Haley Chapman, Dalton Middle School
• 2nd Place – Karina L. Gonzales, Dalton Middle School
• 3rd Place – Jesus Hernandez, Dalton Middle School

8th grade:

• 1st Place – Brisa Mandujano, Eastbrook Middle School
• 2nd Place – Nicolas Perez, Dalton Middle School
• 3rd Place – Johnny Huynh, Dalton Middle School

America Recycles Day is celebrating 15 years of being a community-driven event dedicated to promoting recycling awareness, commitment, and action in the U.S. For more information on recycling, and to take the pledge to recycle visit www.AmericaRecyclesDay.org.

Target Recycling at School provides recycling collection services and environmental education opportunities to schools in Whitfield County. For more information call 706-278-5001 or the Recycling Page of our website.

3rd Annual America Recycles Day Billboard Contest Announced

The Dalton-Whitfield Solid Waste Authority is pleased to announce it’s 3rd Annual America Recycles Day Billboard Contest for 6th, 7th, and 8th graders that attend either public or private schools participating in the Target Recycling at School program. Students are invited to design a billboard in keeping with the spirit of America Recycles Day, which is celebrated yearly on November 15. The top design out of the three grade levels will be displayed for four weeks on two billboards in Whitfield County.

During the 2011 contest, Dalton Middle School 7th grader, Joel Paez won first place overall. His artwork, chosen from 105 entries, included the phrase, “I Recycle. Do You?” in green letters and showed a young boy picking up an item to recycle. The suggested billboard themes for the 2012 contest are, “Let’s Target Recycling Together”, “I Recycle. Do You?” and “Recycle, it’s the natural thing to do.”

Download the Contest Guide with an entry form. Deadline for entries is Wednesday, November 7, 2012. There is no entry fee, however an official entry form needs to be included with the artwork. Only artwork submitted directly from a school representative will be accepted. Winners will be announced on Thursday, November 15.

For more information contact Liz Swafford, Recycling and Education Program Coordinator, at 706-278-5001.

PHOTO CAPTION:The 3rd Annual America Recycles Day Billboard Design Contest is underway. Pictured is the winning design of 2011 designed by Joel Paez of Dalton Middle School.

You Can Now Recycle ‘All Plastic Bottles’

DALTON, GA - Recycling just got easier in Whitfield County! Residents can now recycle all plastic bottles and jugs thru one of the recycling venues available in Whitfield County like the City of Dalton Curbside Recycling Program, and all Convenience Center locations.

“We have moved away from telling residents to recycle plastic bottles and jugs with the #1 or #2 recycling symbol.  The recycling symbol numbers are plastic resin identification codes that are used on a wide range of plastic products like cups, trays, tubs, and plastic bags.  Looking for the small numbers is time consuming, and confusing.”  explained Liz Swafford, Recycling and Education Coordinator at the Dalton-Whitfield Solid Waste Authority.   “In order to simplify the identification of recyclables, residents are encouraged to recycle all plastic bottles and jugs.  If a plastic container has a neck smaller than the base it’s a bottle that should go in the recycling bin.  This means that laundry detergent bottles, soda bottles, milk jugs, cleaning solution bottles and more can be recycled.”

There are a large variety of recyclable plastic bottles and jugs found in every room of the home.  For example, plastic jugs and bottles for soda, milk, water, juice, syrup, ketchup, cooking oil, peanut butter, and other condiments.  Cleaning solutions like liquid dish detergent, liquid laundry detergent, bleach, liquid fabric softener, window cleaner, bathroom, and kitchen cleaners.  Personal items like shampoo, conditioner, body wash, mouthwash, and lotion.  And finally, individual beverage containers for soft drinks, water, tea, and sports drinks.

Another indicator that a bottle or jug is recyclable is the thread on the neck that allow for a cap to be screwed on.   A margarine tub or yogurt cup do not qualify for recycling since they have a wide mouth opening larger than the base.  Plastic bags, plastic food trays, drinking cups, plastic utensils, motor oil and pesticide bottles and jugs are also not collected for recycling in Whitfield County.  It’s recommended to rinse out plastic bottles to remove food residue and crush to save space.  It’s ok to leave the labels and caps on the containers.

Recycling takes a product at the end of its useful life and uses part or that entire product to make new ones.  As a result, recycling just one container can save energy, water, and other natural resources.  According to NAPCOR, the National Association for PET Container Resources, it takes nineteen 20 oz. plastic bottles to yield enough fiber to make one extra large T-shirt, or one square foot of carpet.

Click here to watch the “All Plastic Bottles” video and download the information sheet.  Or for more details call the Dalton-Whitfield Recycling Center at 706-278-5001.