Over 550 Christmas Trees Treecycled

DALTON, GA -  On Saturday, January 8, residents of Whitfield County participated in the annual Christmas tree recycling event called “Bring One For The Chipper”.  The free event organized by Keep Dalton-Whitfield Beautiful took place at The Home Depot on Shugart Road and included the participation of 25 volunteers from several organizations.  “Bring One For The Chipper” has been a holiday tradition in Dalton-Whitfield for over ten years.  The 2011 event marked 20 years of “treecycling” in the state of Georgia.

During the event 145 residents dropped off their live Christmas tree for recycling in exchange for free seedlings, seeds, discount coupons, and if they came during lunch, a free spicy biscuit from Chick-fil-A.  Mascots greeting visitors included the Chipper, official mascot for “Bring One For The Chipper”, the Chick-fil-A Spicy Cow, and Recycling Ben from the Target Recycling Program.  Trees collected were recycled into mulch that will be used for beautification projects and is available for free to residents within Whitfield County.

Residents who missed the event were able to “treecycle” with curbside pickup from City of Dalton Public Works or yard waste drop-off at a Convenience Center.  During December and January, over 550 Christmas trees were collected in Whitfield County through the event and secondary collection options.  Statewide over 5.5 million trees have been recycled as mulch or habitats for wildlife since the beginning of the program in 1991.

Keep Dalton-Whitfield Beautiful would like to thank the following organizations for contributing to this year’s event: Dalton-Whitfield Solid Waste Authority, Whitfield County - Georgia Forestry Commission, Whitfield County Public Works Department, The Home Depot in Dalton, Dalton Falls Miniature Golf, Chick-fil-A on Walnut Ave. I-75, City of Dalton Public Works Department, The Daily Citizen, and Daylight Donuts on Old Dixie Hwy.  State level sponsors for this year’s event include the Georgia Department of Community Affairs’ Keep Georgia Beautiful program, The Home Depot, The Davey Tree Expert Company, Ferry-Morse Seed Co., and 11 Alive – Atlanta’s NBC Affiliate.

For more information visit www.KeepDaltonWhitfieldBeautiful.org or call 706-278-5001.

Treecycling Event this Saturday

DALTON, GA -  The Chipper and Recycling Ben invite you to treecycle this Saturday, January 8, during “Bring One For The Chipper!” 2011.  Keep Dalton-Whitfield Beautiful volunteers will be at The Home Depot at 875 Shugart Road in Dalton from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm collecting live, undecorated Christmas trees for recycling.

In exchange for dropping off a live Christmas tree for the Chipper participants will receive a free tree seedling or a packet of seeds, and a pass to play a free round of mini golf at Dalton Falls Mini Golf.

Saturday’s treecycling event will include the participation of Chick-fil-A’s Spicy Cow from 11 am to 2 pm.  The Chipper mascot and Recycling Ben, mascot for the Target Recycling program, will be available to greet visitors from 12:30 pm to 2 pm.

Christmas trees dropped off for recycling must be free of ornaments, nails, hooks, wires, tinsel, lights, and other decorations.  Only natural, live, real trees will be accepted, no artificial trees please.

“Bring One For The Chipper” has been a holiday tradition in Dalton-Whitfield for over ten years.  The 2011 event also marks 20 years of “treecycling” in the state of Georgia. Over 5.5 million trees have been recycled as mulch or habitats for wildlife since the beginning of the program in 1991.

Local sponsors and event organizers include Keep Dalton-Whitfield Beautiful, Dalton-Whitfield Solid Waste Authority, Whitfield County Public Works Department, The Home Depot in Dalton, Whitfield County - Georgia Forestry Commission, Dalton Falls Miniature Golf, Chick-fil-A on Walnut Ave. at I-75, and Daylight Donuts on Old Dixie.  State sponsors for this year’s event include the Georgia Department of Community Affairs’ Keep Georgia Beautiful program, The Home Depot, The Davey Tree Expert Company, Ferry-Morse Seed Co., and 11 Alive – Atlanta’s NBC Affiliate.

Whitfield County residents that are not able to attend the event are encouraged to take their Christmas tree to one of four Convenience Centers which have drop-off locations for yard debris that is mulched year round.  These include the McGaughey Chapel, M.L.King Blvd., Westside, and the Old Dixie Hwy. Landfill & Convenience Center.  For hours of operation and directions visit www.DWSWA.org or call 706-278-5001.

For more details visit www.KeepDaltonWhitfieldBeautiful.org or call 706-278-5001.

Recycle Your Christmas Tree on January 8, 2011

DALTON, GA - Recycle your Christmas tree on January 8, 2011 during “Bring One For The Chipper”. This free event will be held at the Home Depot parking lot at 875 Shugart Road in Dalton from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm. Keep Dalton-Whitfield Beautiful volunteers will be collecting live, natural, undecorated Christmas trees from the public. In exchange for bringing a Christmas tree for the Chipper, residents will receive a free tree seedling or a free seed packet to plant at home.

Trees will be recycled into mulch that will be used for beautification projects and is available for free to residents within Whitfield County. “Bring One For The Chipper” has been a holiday tradition in Dalton-Whitfield for over ten years. The 2011 event marks 20 years of “treecycling” in the state of Georgia. This event allows communities to put discarded trees to good use. Over 5.5 million trees have been recycled as mulch or habitats for wildlife since the beginning of the program in 1991.

“Bring One For The Chipper” would not be possible without the support of state and local sponsors. State sponsors for this year’s event include the Georgia Department of Community Affairs’ Keep Georgia Beautiful program, The Home Depot, The Davey Tree Expert Company, Ferry-Morse Seed Co., and 11 Alive – Atlanta’s NBC Affiliate. Local sponsors include Keep Dalton-Whitfield Beautiful, Dalton-Whitfield Solid Waste Authority, Whitfield County - Georgia Forestry Commission, Whitfield County Public Works Department, The Home Depot in Dalton, and Dalton Falls Miniature Golf.

Christmas trees must be free of ornaments, nails, hooks, wires, tinsel, lights, and other decorations. Only natural, live, real trees will be accepted, no artificial trees please.

If residents cannot participate the day of the event, there are two additional options available.

1.) The City of Dalton Public Works Department will collect trees from the curb. City residents should call 706-278-7077 for pick-up.

2.) All four Convenience Centers managed by the Dalton-Whitfield Solid Waste Authority have drop-off locations for yard debris that is recycled year round. These include the McGaughey Chapel, M.L.King Blvd., Westside, and the Old Dixie Hwy. Landfill & Convenience Center. For hours of operation and directions visit www.DWSWA.org or call 706-278-5001.

For more details visit www.KeepDaltonWhitfieldBeautiful.org or call 706-278-5001.

Keep Dalton-Whitfield Beautiful Honored by Keep America Beautiful for Achievements in 2010

Local Organization Recognized as Among the “Best of the Best” Nationwide

DALTON, GA – Keep Dalton-Whitfield Beautiful’s acceptance of the Keep America Beautiful President’s Circle Award for 2010 was announced during Keep America Beautiful’s 57th annual National Conference in Orlando, Florida on December 10th.  The President’s Circle Award recognizes exemplary performance made by certified affiliates of the national nonprofit to reduce litter, minimize waste and recycle, and beautify their local communities.

In qualifying for a President’s Circle Award, Keep Dalton-Whitfield Beautiful has meet Keep America Beautiful’s standards of excellence by conducting an annual Litter Index survey, calculating the affiliate’s cost/benefit ratio, and engaging local volunteers to take greater responsibility for their community environment.  In addition, award recipients must conduct activities in Keep America Beautiful’s three core focus areas of litter prevention, recycling and waste reduction, and beautification/community greening.

During 2010 Keep Dalton-Whitfield Beautiful held several events, including Bring One For The Chipper, Community Pride Day, Adopt-a-Mile cleanups, and educational sessions.  “Thanks to the participation of local volunteers, who are passionate about making a difference in our community environment, Keep Dalton-Whitfield Beautiful has had a fantastic year.” said Liz Swafford, Executive Director of Keep Dalton-Whitfield Beautiful.  “I want to thank each volunteer, our board members, and the Dalton-Whitfield Solid Waste Authority for their support of our local affiliate in 2010.  And, I want to encourage others to join us in 2011.  Visit www.KeepDaltonWhitfieldBeautiful.org to register for our newsletter or call 706-278-5001 to see how you can participate.”

“One of Keep America Beautiful’s most effective tools is the work of our grassroots network of affiliate organizations, which has an impact on millions of Americans each year,” said Keep America Beautiful President and CEO Matthew M. McKenna. “Our affiliates are providing real solutions to problems like litter, graffiti, illegal dumping and other community blights. By engaging people of all ages in community improvement efforts, Keep Dalton-Whitfield Beautiful is represented among the best in promoting the values Keep America Beautiful espouses nationally.”

Keep America Beautiful, Inc., established in 1953, is the nation's largest volunteer-based community action and education organization. With a network of more than 1,200 affiliate and participating organizations, Keep America Beautiful forms public-private partnerships and programs that engage individuals to take greater responsibility for improving their community environments. For additional information, visit www.kab.org.

254 Volunteers Made a Difference at the 16th Annual Conasauga Watershed Clean-up

DALTON, GA -  254 volunteers from Whitfield and Murray Counties helped clean-up seven locations along the Consasauga River Watershed during the United Way of Northwest Georgia’s “Make a Difference Day” on Saturday, October 23rd.

The Conasauga River, one of the six most biologically diverse freshwater river systems in the United States, supports 24 endangered species and a dozen other imperiled species, including the Southern Pigtoe mussel and the Conasauga log perch, a fish found nowhere else in the world.  After spending the morning cleaning up different sections of the Conasauga Watershed, seven volunteer groups had removed 12,621 pounds of trash and debris.  Items collected included discarded tires, rims, car parts, plastic bags, cans, bottles, used carpet, and even broken bicycles.  Chinese Privet, an invasive shrub, was also removed at the Prater’s Mill location.

Below are the seven locations in Whitfield and Murray counties selected as clean-up sites followed by the number of volunteers, and amount of trash and debris removed at each one.

1. Conasauga River at Lower King’s Bridge/Norton Bridge, 35 volunteers, 5,020 lbs.

2. Conasauga River at Highway 2 Bridge, 51 volunteers, 360 lbs.

3. Conasauga River at Carlton Petty Road Bridge, 17 volunteers, 790 lbs.

4. Holly Creek, Murray County, on the Chattahoochee National Forest, 38 volunteers, 625 lbs.

5. Mill Creek tributary in the City of Dalton, 41 volunteers, 3,680 lbs.

6. Coahulla Creek at Prater’s Mill, 60 volunteers, 2,060 lbs.

7. McClellan Creek in Dalton, 12 volunteers, 86 lbs.

This year’s Conasauga Watershed Clean-up included fifty more volunteers than last year. The amount of clean-up time donated by the 254 volunteers is valued at $15,900.  As a group they collected 7,200 more pounds of garbage than in 2009.  The first 200 volunteers received a t-shirt and water bottle in appreciation for their participation.  Event organizers want to thank everyone who participated and contributed to the success of this year’s event.

The Conasauga Watershed Clean-up has been a part of Rivers Alive, a statewide campaign to clean and preserve over 70,000 miles of Georgia’s rivers and streams, for sixteen years.  Rivers Alive continues to be the State’s and one of the South’s largest volunteer efforts to beautify water resources.  As of the beginning of November, 15,303 volunteers participated 138 clean-up events through out the state this year.  Together they have collected 233,717 pounds of garbage from Georgia waterways.

For additional information about this year’s event, please contact John Lugthart at jlugthart@daltonstate.edu or call 706-272-2485.  For more information about efforts in other areas or the statewide campaign, call 404-675-6240 or go to www.RiversAlive.org.

This year’s Funding Sponsors included Shaw Industries, Dalton Utilities, The Nature Conservancy (TNC), and the Conasauga River Alliance (CRA).

Coordinators for 2010 included the Carpet America Recovery Effort (CARE), Carpet & Rug Institute (CRI), Dalton-Whitfield Solid Waste Authority, Dalton State College, Dalton Utilities, Keep Dalton-Whitfield Beautiful, and Murray & Whitfield County Extension.

Supporters of the statewide campaign include Georgia Adopt-A-Stream and Project WET, Georgia Department of Natural Resources Environmental Protection Division, Keep Georgia Beautiful, and Georgia Department of Community Affairs.