Dalton-Whitfield Solid Waste Authority

2011 America Recycles Day Billboard Design Contest

DALTON, GA – Recycling Ben, mascot for the Target Recycling Program, and the recycling team at the Dalton-Whitfield Solid Waste Authority are delighted to announce the 2^nd Annual America Recycles Day Billboard Design Contest.  The art contest is for students in 6^th, 7^th, and 8^th grade in Whitfield County schools that recycle with Target Recycling.  Middle Schoolers are asked to design artwork for a billboard with a recycling theme in keeping with America Recycles Day that is celebrated on November 15.  The winning design will be displayed for at least four weeks on two billboards in Whitfield County.

During the inaugural competition in 2010, Dalton Middle School 7th grader, Esmeralda Perez won first place overall.  Her billboard design simply stated “I Will Recycle” and included the America Recycles Day slogan, “I Recycle”.  The suggested billboard themes for the 2011 contest are, “Let’s Target Recycling Together”, “I Recycle. Do You?” and “Recycle, it’s the natural thing to do.”

Welcome to the new school year!

Recycling Ben and the team at the Dalton-Whitfield Recycling Center are excited about the launch of Target Recycling at School for the 2011 - 2012 School Year.   There are several changes and improvements to our school recycling contest program detailed below.  Please review the information and share it with fellow staff.  Download a PDF about the school recycling contest which includes the “... handy dandy record keeping chart thingy.”

Click here to Update Your Profile or register now to recieve the Target Recycling at School newsletter in your e-mail's inbox.  Or click on the QR code to the right or scan it with your mobile phone to register.

Target Recycling at School Recycling Contest Rules and Guidelines for the 2011 - 2012 School Year

• Target Recycling at School’s Annual School Recycling Contest for the 2011 - 2012 School Year will take place from August 2011 to May 2012, the length of the regular school year.  
• The contest is open to City, County, and Private schools in Whitfield County, Georgia that have the yellow and green Target Recycling containers or a roll-off container from the Dalton-Whitfield Solid Waste Authority.  All schools are automatically entered.
• Target Recycling provides each school with recycling containers for collecting Mixed Paper or Cardboard.  Depending on availability, each school’s needs and recycling rate, a Plastic/Aluminum collection container may be added.
• All schools compete against each other to obtain the highest recycling rate per student making this a county wide competition.
• The recycling rate is calculated by dividing the number of students by the weight, in pounds, of the recyclables collected at the school during one month.  The number of students at the school is requested each school year from each district’s administration office.
• Students, teachers, and staff are responsible for getting the recyclables from the classrooms and other collection points to the Target Recycling Container(s).
• The Target Recycling collection truck will pick up the recyclables, weigh the contents, and maintain a record of weights for each school.
• Target Recycling produces a monthly report to show the recycling rate for each location and makes it available online and via e-mail to school representatives.
• In recognition for recycling Target Recycling at School will give out prizes and certificates to individual schools that meet the requirements to win.  
• NEW >>> Monthly Prize: The school with the highest recycling rate for the month will receive a prize during the following month. (1st Place Only).  The prize for the month of May will be issued in August during the next school year.
•At the end of the school year, the top three schools with the highest recycling rate for the school year will receive a prize.  (1st, 2nd, 3rd Place Only).   Because the contest goes thru May, the end of the school year, prizes will be presented at the beginning of the following school year.
• NEW >>> A certificate of recognition will be presented to the school with the highest recycling rate for the year in one of three categories:  Elementary School, Middle School, High School. One school per category will be recognized.
• NEW >>> A certificate of recognition will be presented to the school with the highest weight collected overall for the year.
• NEW >>> A certificate of recognition will be presented to the school that has improved their recycling rate the most during the year.

Target Recycling at School - Contest PRIZES

This list of prizes is a sample of what your school could win if you are a monthly or end of the year winner.  If you would like something different please call our staff to discuss.  Ultimately we want the prizes to be items that will benefit your school’s recycling program, beautify the campus, or motivate students.  Recipients of Certificates of Recognition receive actual certificates in a recycled content frame.

Highest Recycling Rate For The Month

Choose one (1) of the following prizes:

• Blue Office Recycling Bins with white recycling symbol for each classroom. (Dimensions: 3 1/4 Gallons, 12 1/8” H x 11 3/8” W x 8 1/4” D)

• Ice Cream Party for whole school: individually wrapped novelty ice cream treats.

• One (1) Heavy Duty Service Cart to pick-up recyclables.

• One (1) Wagon or Clydesdale Hauler to pick-up recyclables.

• Set of five (5) Clear Stream Recycling Bins to collect Plastic Bottle and Aluminum Beverage Cans at locations that already have the Plastic/Aluminum collection container from Target Recycling.

1st place overall for the whole year

Choose one (1) of the following prizes:
• Two (2) Recycled Plastic Benches, 6 ft. long.
• One (1) Recycled Plastic Picnic Table
• One (1) Snakes of Georgia Show, School Assembly
• Three (3) items from the category above called “Highest Recycling Rate for the Month”.

2nd place overall for the whole year

Choose one (1) of the following prizes:
• One (1) Recycled Plastic Bench, 4 to 6 ft. long
• Two (2) items from the category above called “Highest Recycling Rate for the Month”.

3rd place overall for the whole year

• One (1) item from the category above called “Highest Recycling Rate for the Month”.

DALTON, GA – Students from Whitfield County Public Schools, Dalton Public Schools, and two local private schools collected 627,632 pounds of materials for recycling during the 2010 – 2011 school year with Target Recycling at School. The 314 tons collected is the weight equivalent of 179 compact cars and reflects an increase of 25% over the last school year. If only aluminum cans were collected, students would have recycled the weight equivalent of 21,814,300 cans.

Recyclables collected at the thirty-four participating schools include mixed paper products, and where available, plastic bottles and aluminum cans. Recycling is the process of taking a product at the end of its useful life and using all or part of it to create new products. As a result, recycling helps conserve our natural resources. For example, recycling 2,000 pounds of paper can save 60,000 gallons of water.

[ Photo Left: Students at Dug Gap Elementary School learned about trees and paper recycling during a visit from Recycling Ben and Liz Swafford from the Target Recycling at School program. ]

Target Recycling at School is a free service for schools in Whitfield County, Georgia providing recycling education and collection of recyclables. Each year a School Recycling Contest is held and top recyclers are recognized. This program is managed by the Dalton-Whitfield Solid Waste Authority. For more information call the Materials Recovery Facility at 706-278-5001 or e-mail Liz Swafford.

Program Overview

Recycling Education, Tours, and Promotions

Target Recycling at School supports recyclers with educational opportunities for students and staff to learn about recycling. Tours, promotions, and educational resources are available free of charge and include:

• Activity books, stickers, etc. for students
• Pencils or other items made from recycled materials
• Tour of DWSWA facilities including the Recycling Center. (Tour Request Form Here)
• Meet and greet with mascot Recycling Ben for special events and assemblies
• Recycling Assessments and Site Visits to improve recycling rate
• Workshops about Recycling for Teachers, Custodial Staff, and Students
• Bi-Weekly Newsletter for teachers and staff (click here to sign-up)
• Fan Page on Facebook for teachers and staff
• Monthly Recycling Rate Reports for each school
• Automatic participation and eligibility for prizes in the School Recycling Contest
• Bilingual educational options (English / Spanish)