| DEP
DEPUTY COMMISSIONER PRESENTS RECYCLING AWARDS AT ANNUAL
SYMPOSIUM
(03/149) Monroe Township
- New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP)
Deputy Commissioner Joanna Dunn Samson recognized 15 residents,
companies and government agencies for helping to increase
recycling of solid waste during the past year.
At the 23rd annual New Jersey Recycling
Symposium and Awards Luncheon on Wednesday, Deputy Commissioner
Samson presented awards for a variety of outstanding recycling
programs. Twelve students also received awards as part of
DEP's second annual recycling poetry contest, which drew
more than 300 entries from 118 schools.
"We commend individuals, businesses
and government agencies at all levels for their commitment
to recycle," said Deputy Commissioner Samson. "Educating
our children about the importance of recycling ensures future
environmental benefits. Developing good recycling habits
is good for the environment and also generates economic
opportunities for everyone."
The department is currently finalizing
a statewide plan to increase recycling in New Jersey. It
will require counties to develop and submit for approval
enhanced recycling plans.
DEP co-sponsors the recycling symposium
and awards luncheon with the Association of New Jersey Recyclers
and the New Jersey Recycling Forum.
The 2003 award recipients are listed below:
AWARD CATEGORY RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
AWARD RECIPIENT: PSEG
PSEG recycled more than 90 percent of all non-hazardous
solid waste and purchased over $3 million worth of products
containing recycled material. They recycled over 20,000
pounds of used fluorescent and high-intensity discharge
lamps.
AWARD CATEGORY: MULTI-FAMILY HOUSING
AWARD RECIPIENT: Acacia Lumberton Manor, Inc.
Acacia Lumberton Manor has been recycling since the mid-1980s
and recycles approximately 47 tons annually. The 181 residents
prevent contamination of the recycling area by neatly stacking
bundles of paper and cardboard. Bottles and cans are collected
in bins.
AWARD CATEGORY: MUNICIPAL NEWSLETTER/BROCHURE
AWARD RECIPIENT: Borough of Sayreville
Sayreville's annual brochure contains valuable information
regarding county and municipal recycling programs. The layout,
graphics and color-scheme are clear and user-friendly. The
town uses senior citizen volunteers to help distribute the
brochure.
AWARD CATEGORY: MUNICIPAL PROGRAM
AWARD RECIPIENT: Village of Ridgewood
Ridgewood recycles 15 items and has almost doubled its recycling
tonnage over the past 12 years. It provides recycling service
for residential units, schools, churches and municipal facilities,
and collects corrugated cardboard and commingled containers
in the business district. It also provides a comprehensive
outreach program to its residents.
AWARD CATEGORY: MUNICIPAL COORDINATOR
AWARD WINNER: MaryEllen Lyons, Borough of Hawthorne
Under Ms. Lyons' guidance, Hawthorne has expanded its curbside
program to include electronics and metal and achieved a
recycling rate of 63 percent in 2001. Ms. Lyons oversees
operations at the town's recycling center and established
new programs to support source reduction and the purchase
of recycled products.
AWARD CATEGORY: COUNTY COORDINATOR
AWARD WINNER: Dennis DeMatte, Cumberland County
Mr. DeMatte's many successes include his partnership with
the NJ Department of Agriculture to implement the first
pesticide container and nursery pot recycling program. His
management of a $300,000 Community Environmental Enhancement
Grant Program assists local community groups in preserving
and improving the environment.
AWARD CATEGORY: OUTREACH/MEDIA
AWARD WINNER: Atlantic County Utilities Authority
The Authority's own line of environmental products is used
to educate the public about the importance of buying recycled.
The public is encouraged to use all facilities within its
environmental park, especially on Earth Day, when the festivities
draw over 3500 people to the park. It has also developed
and distributed a 12-page quarterly newsletter.
AWARD CATEGORY: SOURCE REDUCTION
AWARD WINNER: Verizon
In 2002, Verizon's New Jersey locations achieved an overall
recycling rate of 80.4 percent. Their most important recycling
and waste reduction initiative was to determine, by trial,
which businesses prefer to receive the Yellow Pages on a
CD-ROM and make it available to them.
AWARD CATEGORY: SOURCE REDUCTION
AWARD WINNER: Mannington Mills
Instead of using raw materials and spending money on virgin
product, Mannington Mills developed a process that enables
them to use the scrap from processing sheet-flooring product
to make a new product. They are also designing an on-site
material recovery center to recycle waste from other post-consumer
sources into their products.
AWARD CATEGORY: STUDENT/TEACHER
AWARD WINNER: Cub Scouts of Den 9, Pack 224
Last year, this group hosted a recycling event in their
town to coincide with America Recycles Day. They made and
distributed posters and fliers and contacted media outlets.
On the day of the event they assisted at the recycling center.
AWARD CATEGORY: STUDENT/TEACHER
AWARD WINNER: Second Grade Teachers of Middle Township,
Elementary One
Classroom recycling lessons and supplemental activities
were developed through a collaborative effort among the
second grade teachers at Elementary One and the county recycling
coordinator. The lessons and activities were so effective
that teachers and administrators designated Recycling Week
as part of the curriculum at the elementary school.
AWARD CATEGORY: COMMISSIONER'S
AWARD
AWARD WINNER: Joseph Matteo
Mr. Matteo's commitment to the use of scrap tire chips in
civil engineering applications has been instrumental in
advancing this new end market. His experience helped pave
the way for the use of scrap tire chips in landfill construction
applications and in septic tank leachate fields.
AWARD CATEGORY: COMMISSIONER'S
AWARD
AWARD WINNER: Drs. Thomas Nosker, Jennifer Lynch
and Richard Renfree
Drs. Nosker, Lynch and Renfree provided an early analysis
of the components of curbside recycling in New Jersey and
developed the first forms of composite lumber using the
types of resins found in our household recycling bins. They
developed performance-based standards to evaluate the recyclability
of the lumber, and their work is now leading to the identification
of other innovative uses. Their work has led to the first-time
use of a composite material in structural I-beams. The first
structure built entirely out of this composite material
recently opened as a bridge in Wharton State Forest.
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