Keep Dalton-Whitfield Beautiful and Local Girl Scout Win National Innovation Award
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Shaw Industries Sponsors Keep Dalton-Whitfield Beautiful’s Sustainability Efforts
/Interview with Shaw’s Sustainability Specialist Erin Helm
In 2020, Shaw Industries supported Keep Dalton-Whitfield Beautiful (KDWB) as their sole Sustainability sponsor. This sponsorship is what has led to the restoration project for the fountain on Morris St. that has been remade into a planter with the help of Dalton Public Works and Fiddleheads. Shaw’s sponsorship has helped KDWB commission a new public sculpture out of reclaimed metal by Chris Beck that will be placed on the upcycled fountain. To celebrate their sponsorship, Erin Helm, Shaw’s Sustainability Specialist spoke about what inspires her and Shaw’s goals in sustainability, material health, and how what choices we make impact the world around us every single day.
Erin project manages all Raw Material Substitutions and all of the product and raw chemical information for training, marketing, sales, and customer service.
Erin started working at Shaw as a designer before moving into sustainability, “I knew nothing about the flooring industry when I started my job at Shaw! I was fresh out of college and had no idea what I was doing. I think what surprised me the most was all of the moving pieces that go into creating a flooring product--it’s astounding!” While working at Shaw, Erin got her start in sustainability as chair of the sustainability committee at the Shaw Create Centre Campus where they sponsored adopt-a-mile, river and trail clean-ups, hosted recycling education events, started composting stations on campus, helped eliminate all single-use plastic items on campus, and organized events for Earth Day and an e-waste recycling event!
In her career Erin learned about everything that went into flooring design and changes in sustainability over the past few years, “I was surprised by all of the science involved with what I do now. My background is in design, so coming into a sustainability role and learning about chemical components of our products has been really interesting! Something else that was very interesting was to see the shift of sustainability from just traditional measures like Waste, Water, and Energy to encompass things like Material Health and Social Justice! As a designer and creative, I love seeing how Shaw weaves sustainability into every aspect of a product story.” The material health of flooring makes sure that the chemicals in the product are safe for the consumer and the planet. With something that is present in every building we walk into, considering the repercussions of certain chemicals on our life-long health is critical.
So, for those of us choosing flooring or any other product and trying to consider the environment and our needs, what should we be looking for? Erin says, “When I am looking at purchasing any product beyond the design and functionality, I ask myself three questions.
1. Is it made well/will it last?
2. Is it made by a responsible company?
3. Are there any chemicals of concern in this product?
Shaw checks all of those boxes for me with their product warranties, social responsibility and community outreach efforts and third-party certifications that cover Material Health (Cradle to Cradle) and Indoor Air Quality (Green Label Plus, FloorScore and GreenGuard) concerns!”
Keep Dalton-Whitfield Beautiful appreciates Shaw as their sole Sustainability sponsor for 2020. Without the support of their sponsors, the work they do throughout the year to create a clean, green, and beautiful place to live would not be possible.
Free Tree, Electronics, and Cardboard 2021 Event - Keep Dalton-Whitfield Beautiful
/Bring One for the Chipper 2021!
Save the date for January 9th, 2021 to recycle live trees, electronics, and cardboard!
This holiday may look a little different, but we’ve seen how much people are enjoying decorating their homes this year. If you are decorating for Christmas and plan to use a live tree make sure you have a plan for after the holiday! Save the date for Keep Dalton-Whitfield Beautiful’s Annual Bring One for the Chipper Event. Over the years, this event has recycled hundreds of live Christmas trees and multiple tons of electronics.
Recycle your live, natural, undecorated Christmas tree after the holiday season and your used electronic devices at The Home Depot on 875 Shugart road on Saturday, January 9, 2021. From 8:00 am to 12:00 pm volunteers will be on-site to collect your natural trees and electronics for recycling.
New to this year we will also be collecting flattened cardboard boxes! If you have big cardboard boxes that won’t fit in your curbside bin, flatten them out and bring them along!
There is NO charge for trees and most electronics. The only fee is a $10.00 fee for CRT, or Cathode Ray Tube, television sets, and computer monitors. Typical CRT TVs have four to eight pounds of lead in them requiring them to have extra-special handling when they are being recycled and results in a higher cost.
Please remove all ornaments and the base from your trees. Electronics will be sent to a third-party recycler. Volunteers will not be removing any data from your devices before sending them onto recycling. Please make sure you wipe the data from laptops, phones, etc. before dropping off.
Participants have their pick of seed packets while supplies last and will remain in their car to help the event remain safe in 2020.
Thank you to the following event sponsors and organizers: Keep Dalton-Whitfield Beautiful, Whitfield County Public Works, Dalton-Whitfield Solid Waste Authority, and The Home Depot.
For more information or if you want to volunteer at the event call 706-278-5001.
2020 America Recycles Billboard Contest Winner Announced
/Eastbrook Middle School 7th grader, Bricia Manzanares, is the overall winner of the 2020 America Recycles Day Billboard Design Contest hosted by the Dalton-Whitfield Solid Waste Authority’s program Target Recycling at School.
The winning design will be displayed on two billboards in Whitfield County (one on Highway 41 and the other on Thornton Avenue) during the month of November to recognize America Recycles Day on November 15th.
Ms. Manzaneres’ design includes the phrase “Recycle with Recycling Ben” as one of the themes of the contest. The artwork features the Dalton-Whitfield Solid Waste Authority mascot, Recycling Ben alongside our most commonly recycled items, a cardboard box, water bottle, and mail. Every time you drive past it, it can serve as a reminder that it is important for you to recycle your paper and cardboard because every ton recycled saves 17 trees.
The billboard design contest, now in its eleventh year, has 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners from each school that submitted entries. The three winners, listed below, received a certificate of participation and a gift bag with items made from recycled materials. The first place overall, who is the winner of the billboard, was selected from the first-place design from each grade level.
Eastbrook Middle
1) Bricia Manzanares
2) Janyce Hernandez
3) Olivia Pulliam
Christian Heritage
1) Adelyn Martinez
2) Maddie Retelle
3) Alexandria Brewer
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 visit www.DWSWA.org.
America Recycles Day is a community-driven event dedicated to promoting recycling awareness, commitment, and action in the U.S. through its partnership with Keep America Beautiful. It’s celebrated annually on November 15. For more information on recycling, and to take the pledge to #BeRecycled visit www.AmericaRecyclesDay.org.
Holiday Operating Schedule for Landfill, Convenience Centers
/Landfill, Convenience Centers Announce Holiday Hours
Facilities closed in observance of Christmas Day and New Year’s Day
The Dalton-Whitfield Solid Waste Authority has announced the holiday hours of operation for its four facilities in Whitfield County in 2020 and 2021. Locations include;
1.Old Dixie Hwy. Landfill & Convenience Center
2.McGaughey Chapel Convenience Center in Cohutta
3.Westside Convenience Center in Rocky Face
4. M.L. King Convenience Center in Dalton.
All locations will be CLOSED on Thursday, December 24th and Friday, December 25th in observance of Christmas. All locations will re-open on Saturday, December 26 from 7 am to 3 pm. All locations will be CLOSED on Friday, January 1, 2021 in observance of New Year’s Day, and re-open on Saturday, January 2, 2021 from 7 am to 3 pm.
For more information call the main office 706-277-2545.