The 2012 American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA) Recycling Awards are officially underway! The annual awards recognize outstanding paper recycling efforts of schools, businesses, and communities.
Publishers are invited to enter this contest with their own programs -- and encouraged to spread the word to local scholastic and nonprofit recycling leaders. You each have a chance to win a $2,000 cash prize, original framed artwork, and recognition in local and national media. Winners and finalists will also be featured as best practices on the paperrecycles.org website.
Thanks to the efforts of millions of Americans who recycle paper every day, in 2010 a record-high of 63.5 percent of the paper consumed in this country was recovered for recycling. While this is great news, the paper industry has set a new goal of exceeding 70 percent recovery by the year 2020.
The new recovery goal is part of an extensive, quantifiable set of sustainability goals set by the industry in an initiative called Better Practices, Better Planet 2020. This effort represents the next phase in the forest products industry's on-going legacy as a leader in sustainability, from raw materials and product manufacturing, to the health and safety of the workforce, to the economic contributions the industry makes in local communities. For additional details on the suite of goals included in the Better Practices, Better Planet 2020 initiative, please click here.
AF&PA is pleased to recognize successful and innovative school, business, and community paper recycling programs as part of this effort. Award-winning programs and finalists in each area provide valuable case studies and best practices that can be replicated across the country, further improving our collective paper recovery results.
The deadline for entries is February 10, 2012, you can click here to enter the contest today: http://www.paperrecyclingawards.com/ For detailed criteria, case studies of previous AF&PA Recycling Award winners and more information, please visit paperrecycles.org.
