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Schools compete for green in Yellow Pages recycling program

MEDIA RELEASE | Marketwire

Berry and Hawaiian Telcom Yellow Pages (HTYP) are once again challenging local schools to Think Yellow, Go Green and reduce their environmental footprint.

Berry is kicking off its annual yellow pages recycling program, Think Yellow, Go Green (TYGG), on behalf of HTYP. Schools on the islands of Hawaii, Kauai, Lanai, Maui and Molokai will compete to recycle the most telephone directories per student in hopes of winning cash prizes.

“If you lined up last year’s 16 tons of recycled directories, it would stretch one-and-a-half miles long, end to end,” said Scott Szczekocki, client services regional director for Berry, publisher of HTYP directories. “With 45 schools participating in this year’s program, we hope students, teachers and the community come together to set a new recycling record.”

With the new 2010 HTYP directories distributed in April, the month of May is the ideal time to recycle outdated yellow pages at participating schools. Directories will also be accepted during specific hours at Garden Isle Disposal on Kauai, Hilo Transfer Station and Kealakehe Transfer Station on the Big Island, Maui Disposal on Maui and Makoa Trucking on Molokai.

Students will not only have the opportunity to recycle expired phone books, but will also have the chance to win cash prizes for their respective school as a result of their collection efforts.

Schools on Kauai, Hawaii and Maui that collect the most directories per student will be awarded a cash prize of $800 for first place, $600 for second place, $400 for third place, $300 for fourth place and $200 for fifth place. The top schools on Molokai have the opportunity to collect $500 for first place, $300 for second place and $200 for third place. The school on Lanai will be awarded $350 for participation in this year’s program.

“We hope the students feel a sense of accomplishment for making our earth greener each time they recycle a phone book,” said Szczekocki. “That is exactly what this program is about, teaching and practicing better recycling habits.”

Schools are encouraged to utilize winnings toward further recycling efforts within their school.

Last year the first place winner on Maui, Montessori Hale O Keiki, used the money to fund the school’s organic garden that students helped plant and harvest. St. Joseph Elementary on the Big Island used the money for the school’s extracurricular robotics club, which meets weekly for education in science and engineering.

Winning money for the school motivates students, but learning why the program is held every year quickly becomes the driving force. HTYP directories contain 40 percent post-consumer materials and are 100 percent recyclable. However, if a phone book is not recycled properly, 100 percent of it will remain in a landfill forever.

At the close of the competition May 31, the recycled directories will be shipped to Island Shell in Honolulu. The phone books will then be converted into oil-absorbent materials and used to manufacture home insulation and mulch for companies such as Green Lava Hydro-Mulch and InCide Pest Control Cellulose Insulation.

To be green and stay green, HTYP also offers a program called Yellow Pages Your Way. The program offers consumers a custom solution that best meets their needs with a choice between print and digital directories. Consumers can opt out of print directories and choose a CD or electronic downloadable directory. For more information, visit HTYellowPages.com

For a list of participating schools or to find more information on Berry and the recycling program, visit www.ThinkYellowGoGreen.com or www.BerryMeansBusiness.com

The Berry Company LLC is owned and operated by Local Insight Media Holdings, Inc. In addition to publishing leading print and Internet directories for more than 130 local telephone companies across the country, Berry provides an array of directory services, including sales, marketing, interactive sales support, ad design and composition services.

For nearly 100 years, Berry has offered exceptional service, local market expertise and a constantly expanding family of product offerings. For more information, visit www.BerryMeansBusiness.com

One Response to “Schools compete for green in Yellow Pages recycling program”

  1. Chris says:

    We’ve been giving our phonebooks to Kealakehe Elementary year round! :)

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