The Professional Recyclers of Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania Waste Industries Association, and the Keystone Chapter of the Solid Waste Association of North America recently announced the winners of this year's Waste Watcher Awards given annually to those outstanding recycling, composting, waste reduction, and reuse programs in Pennsylvania.

Awards were be presented to municipalities, counties, private businesses, individuals, schools, and community organizations in 10 categories: Outstanding Recycling Achievement, Outstanding Composting Achievement, and Outstanding Achievements in Public Education, Special Event Recycling, Special Collections, Commercial/Institutional Recycling, School Recycling, Materials Processing, Reuse, and Market Development.

"This year’s Waste Watcher Award winners are especially noteworthy,” stated John Frederick, PROP Executive Director. “The applicants represented a cross-section of Pennsylvania. Ranging from a small school in a non-mandated municipality to the Commonwealth’s largest city, they included institutions, manufacturers, waste and recycling firms and municipalities of all sizes, yet with one thing in common: they looked for innovative ways to successfully and significantly reduce their waste streams.”

It’s been 18 years since the enactment of Act 101 – the Municipal Waste Planning, Recycling and Waste Reduction Act. Despite cuts in funding and programs, recycling continues to conserve energy and raw materials, reduce dependence on foreign oil, and create jobs here in Pennsylvania and across the nation.

For example, in 2005 (the latest year for actual data) Pennsylvania’s recycling resulted in saving almost 98 trillion BTUs of energy, which could be used to power more than 940,000 homes for one year and it is the equivalent of conserving 786 million gallons of gasoline.

The recycling and reuse industry includes more than 3,200 businesses with total sales of $18.4 billion annually. More than 81,000 people are employed in this industry with a $2.9 billion annual payroll. This growth and success is the result of a serious commitment to recycling by individuals, institutions, businesses, government, and the recycling industry, such as our award winners.

The list of award winners follows and a detailed description of each winning program or activity is available online:

Adams County

· Gettysburg College Facilities Service Department: Outstanding Achievement in Special Event Recycling, Outstanding Achievement in Reuse

Armstrong County

· Armstrong Recycling Center, Progressive Workshop of Armstrong County Inc. : Outstanding Recycling Achievement, Outstanding Achievement in Public Education, Outstanding Achievement in Special Collections

Blair County

· New Pig Corp., John Fudalski, with Concord Plastics of PA, Jeff Furmanchin: Outstanding Achievement in Commercial/Institutional Recycling, Outstanding Achievement in Recycling Market Development

Bucks County

· Business & Education Partnership: Waste Management of Pennsylvania & Newspaper in Education Departments of The Bucks County Courier Times & The Intelligencer Newspapers, and Neshaminy Mall: Outstanding Achievement in Public Education

Cambria County

· Cambria County Solid Waste Authority: Outstanding Recycling Achievement, Outstanding Achievement in Public Education, Outstanding Achievement in Special Collections

Carbon County

· Carbon County Department of Solid Waste: Outstanding Achievement in Special Collections

Centre County

· The Art Alliance of Central Pennsylvania, Marie Doll, Executive Director: Outstanding Recycling Achievement

· The Borough of State College, Mark Whitfield, Director of Public Works: Outstanding Composting Achievement

· CCDA Waters LLC: Outstanding Achievement in Commercial/Institutional Recycling

· Centre County Solid Waste Authority, Joanne Shafer: Outstanding Recycling Achievement, Outstanding Achievement in Public Education, Outstanding Achievement in Materials Processing

· Harris Township, Amy Farkas: Outstanding Achievement in Special Event Recycling

· Penn State University, Nadine Davitt: Outstanding Composting Achievement

· Penn State University Office of Physical Plant with Penn State University Housing and Centre County United Way: Outstanding Achievement in Special Collections

· Troop 45, Milesburg, Ralph Stewart & Mark Watson: Outstanding Recycling Achievement

Chester County

· Chester County Solid Waste Authority: Outstanding Recycling Achievement, Outstanding Composting Achievement, Outstanding Achievement in Public Education, Outstanding Achievement in Special Collections

Clinton County

· Clinton County Solid Waste Authority: Outstanding Recycling Achievement, Outstanding Achievement in Public Education, Outstanding Achievement in Special Collections, Outstanding Achievement in Materials Processing

Columbia County

· Town of Bloomsburg, Charles Fritz: Outstanding Recycling Achievement, Outstanding Achievement in Public Education, Outstanding Achievement in Materials Processing

Dauphin County

· Dauphin County Department of Solid Waste Management & Recycling: Outstanding Recycling Achievement

· Middletown Remanufacturing Center, Stephen Weaver: Outstanding Achievement in Commercial/Institutional Recycling

Delaware County

· Delaware County Solid Waste Authority (DCSWA) & The County of Delaware: Outstanding Achievement in Special Collections, Outstanding Achievement in Reuse

Delaware, Bucks, Montgomery, and Philadelphia Counties

· PA Southeastern Regional Household Hazardous Waste Program: Outstanding Achievement in Special Collections

Erie County

· Erie Times/News in Education, Anna McCartney, with Waste Management-Erie, Carm Camillo: Outstanding Achievement in Public Education

Huntingdon County

· PA CleanWays of Huntingdon County, Bob Whittaker: Outstanding Recycling Achievement, Outstanding Achievement in Public Education

Indiana County

· Indiana County Solid Waste Authority: Outstanding Achievement in Special Collections, Outstanding Achievement in Materials Processing

Jefferson County

· Hickory Grove Elementary School: Principal Ray Puller, Teachers Ann Fritz, John MacBeth, Jason Brinkley: Outstanding Composting Achievement, Outstanding Achievement in Public Education, Outstanding Achievement in School Recycling

Lackawanna County

· Cinram Manufacturing LLC: Outstanding Achievement in Commercial/Institutional Recycling

Lancaster County

· Lancaster County Solid Waste Management Authority: Outstanding Achievement in Special Event Recycling Township of Manheim, Outstanding Composting Achievement

Lawrence County

· Lawrence County Recycling/Solid Waste Department with Tri-County Industries: Outstanding Recycling Achievement

Lawrence & Butler Counties

· PA CleanWays of Butler-Lawrence Counties: Outstanding Achievement in Special Collections

Lebanon County

· City of Lebanon: Outstanding Recycling Achievement

· Palmyra Area School District: Outstanding Achievement in School Recycling

Lehigh and Northampton Counties

· The Bethlehem Recycling Bureau of the City of Bethlehem: Outstanding Recycling Achievement, Outstanding Composting Achievement, Outstanding Achievements in Public Education, Outstanding Commercial/Institutional Recycling, Outstanding Achievement in Special Event Recycling, Outstanding Achievement in Materials Processing

Monroe County

· Coolbaugh Township Leaf and Yard Waste Compost Facility, James Frutchey: Outstanding Composting Achievement

Montgomery County

· Upper Merion Township’s Government Access Television (UMGA-TV): Outstanding Achievement in Public Education

Northampton County

· Just Born Inc., and The Green Team: Outstanding Achievement in Public Education, Outstanding Achievement in Commercial/Institutional Recycling, Outstanding Achievement in Reuse

Philadelphia County

· Philadelphia Recycling Office, Joan Hicken: Outstanding Achievement in Public Education

· Temple University, H. Marshall Budin: Outstanding Recycling Achievement, Outstanding Achievement in Commercial/Institutional Recycling

Susquehanna County

· Forest City Borough: Outstanding Recycling Achievement, Outstanding Achievement in Public Education, Outstanding Achievement in Materials Processing

Westmoreland County

· Westmoreland Cleanways: Outstanding Achievement in Public Education, Outstanding Achievement in Special Collections

York County

· Caterpillar Logistics Services Inc.: Outstanding Achievement in Commercial/Institutional Recycling, Outstanding Achievement in Reuse

For more information, visit the PROP website.

9/14/2007