APR 2008 American Recycler Newspaper

The Rechargeable Battery Recycling Corporation (RBRC), a nonprofit, public service organization dedicated to recycling used rechargeable batteries, announced the recipients of its seventh annual “Recycling Leadership Awards.”

This year’s participants recognized for their exceptional recycling efforts with RBRC’s Call2Recycle™ program included the City of Los Angeles; COGERNO (New Brunswick, Canada); Hennepin County (Minnesota); Montgomery County (Maryland); the City of Austin (Texas); and Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune (North Carolina).

The awards are divided into regional and national categories with four United States regional award winners and two national award winners – one from the United States and one from Canada.

The following groups were nationally recognized participants in the Call2Recycle program:

City of Los Angeles - Since joining the RBRC program in 2005, the City of Los Angeles has collected more than 39,000 pounds of rechargeable batteries through the Call2Recycle program, with more than 15,500 pounds collected in 2006 alone. The City of Los Angeles Department of General Services promotes recycling and waste minimization to all city departments, which encompasses approximately 40,000 employees at more than 400 facilities.

COGERNO (Commission de gestion enviro ressources du Nord-Ouest); Province of New Brunswick, Canada - Continuous community involvement has helped COGERNO promote the mission and goals of RBRC in Canada and collect more than 2,300 pounds of rechargeable batteries since it enrolled in the program in 2005. The combination of extensive promotion at community events and workshops, school education and the distribution of collection containers at convenient locations across the region has enabled COGERNO to recycle nearly 750 pounds of rechargeable batteries through the RBRC program in 2006.

The following groups were recognized on a regional level for their participation in the Call2Recycle program:

Hennepin County Environmental Services; Minneapolis, Minnesota - As RBRC’s largest community collection program, Hennepin County Environmental Services has been an important driver in rechargeable battery recycling in Minnesota, collecting more than 165,000 pounds of rechargeable batteries since 1994. With more than 22,000 pounds collected in 2006, the efforts of this community are largely successful due to an extensive public outreach and education campaign.

Montgomery County Division of Solid Waste, Hazardous Waste Program; Derwood, Maryland - The Montgomery County Division of Solid Waste joined Call2Recycle in 2003 and successfully implemented a rechargeable battery collection program at the county’s household hazardous waste stations. Collections totalled 6,300 pounds of rechargeable batteries in 2006.

City of Austin, Household Hazardous Waste Management Program, Department of Solid Waste Services; Austin, Texas - A Call2Recycle participant since 2004, the Austin Department of Solid Waste Services has collected more than 13,000 pounds of rechargeable batteries. Collections totalled more than 2,800 pounds of rechargeable batteries in 2006.

Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune Environmental Management Division; Camp Lejeune, North Carolina - Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune’s Environmental Management division operates a successful rechargeable battery and cell phone collection program at the base’s hazardous waste facility for naval departments and base residents, which collected more than 5,300 pounds of rechargeable batteries in 2006.