A fifth year for Provincial School Recycling Contest

Building on the success achieved in previous years, the Multi-Materials Stewardship Board�s (MMSB) School Recycling Contest, for the 2002-2003 school year, starts this month throughout Newfoundland and Labrador. This year, $425,000 has been made available for the matching refund program, which will again be available to schools across the province.

"The response to the School Recycling Contest and matching program has been very positive, and I am pleased to see such strong participation from schools all across the province," said Kevin Aylward, Minister of Environment. "For me, the strong positive message here is about the growth in recycling. This contest has raised awareness of recycling throughout the province and complements MMSB�s advertising campaign and other waste management initiatives. The more recycling, the less pressure there is on landfills and the better our environment will be."

During the 2001-2002 school year, participating schools recycled seven million beverage containers and earned $713,625 through their recycling refunds and matching funds. Based on the success of last year�s contest, MMSB anticipates paying more than $400,000 in matching refunds to schools this year.

Gordon Seabright, who chairs the MMSB, said: "Through the school recycling contest, schools have been able to raise more than a million dollars directly and, in addition, win computers and software for their schools. It is great to see that the effort schools are putting into their recycling program is paying off for them. It takes a considerable amount of time and energy on the part of teachers, staff, students, and parents to implement a successful school recycling program."

This year�s contest will run from September 1 to June 30 and will see schools doubling their refund on all beverage containers recycled by their school. In addition, during the course of the school year, MMSB will give away 10 computers and thousands of promotional prizes. To assist schools in their recycling efforts, every school will be supplied with recycling bins and bags, a recycling video, and educational and promotional materials.

Media contact:

Cynthia Layden-Barron, Department of Environment, (709) 729-2575
Karen O�Neill, Multi-Materials Stewardship Board, (709) 753-0949

Backgrounder 
Provincial School Recycling Contest

• The contest is open to all public and private schools in Newfoundland and Labrador teaching any of the grades K-12.
• To date, more than 15 million beverage containers have been recycled by schools participating in the contest.
• Since the matching refund program was implemented in October of 2000, schools have raised $1,176,336 through their recycling efforts
• There are currently 285 schools registered in this year�s contest, which represents an 85 per cent participation rate.
• MMSB will award 10 computers, valued at $1,500 each. Since the contest was started in January 1999, 40 computers have been awarded to participating schools.
• This year, several educational components have been added to the contest, including a video outlining the recycling process in the province, as well as recycling activity sheets and projects for both teachers and students.

2002 09 17                                     12:05 p.m.