Mayor Bill Haslam will kick off this year's Knox County school phone book recycling effort Tuesday, December 9, at 1:30 p.m. at the new City of Knoxville Recycling Center at 820 Metler Drive. This center replaces the one previously located on the corner of Merchants and Clinton Highway, the former Kroger store location.
The mayor will also recognize the two winners of the recent phone book recycling poster contest, which was open to elementary and middle school students in Knox County Schools.
Mount Olive Elementary
Student, Reilly Bonner $50.00
Teacher, Diana Dome $150.00
Inskip & Elementary
Student, Nicholas Mingie $50.00
Teacher, Kristie Isbell $150.00
The poster competition is aimed at promoting awareness among students of the importance of recycling and both winners receive $50 cash prizes while their teachers receive $150 awards for use in the classroom.
The school system is also involved in an ongoing contest to see which schools can collect the most phone books for recycling. Cash prizes are awarded to the schools that collect the most phone books for recycling.
Some new phone books have already started arriving at residences and businesses and AT&T begins distributing its books later this month.
The annual competition has a solid environmental impact.
Last year, for example, the Knox County Schools collected more than 76 tons of phone books that were sent for recycling - instead of taking up space in landfills.
According to John Homa, Solid Waste Project Manager for the City of Knoxville, recycling those books saved 127 cubic yards of landfill space, 1,292 trees from having to be planted or cut for paper products, saved 228 barrels of oil, or 4,376 gallons of gasoline, and kept 22,321 pounds of carbon dioxide from polluting the air in one year.
"This is a great effort that provides major environmental benefits," Haslam said, "including saving existing resources as well as helping limit the amount of pollutants into the environment."
Individuals can drop off all old phone books at schools, though they should check with the school first to see if it is participating in the effort.
Individuals and businesses can also make arrangements to directly deliver large numbers of books, on behalf of particular schools, to the recycling company Advance Polymer Recycling, 200 W. Springdale off of Central. They need to inform the schools of the number of books they drop off so those schools can credit that number to their total.
Advance Polymer Recycling is open M - F from 7:30 am - 4:30 pm. If possible, encourage businesses to call ahead before bringing their books, 521-5094.
January 30, 2009 is the last day for books to be collected for the contest.
Phone books can also be dropped off by the public at the following recycling centers throughout the city in the mixed paper bins.
Kroger Stores:
5003 Broadway (Fountain City)
4440 Western Avenue at Clinton
4918 Kingston Pike (Knox Plaza)
2217 Broadway (Broadway Shopping Center)
Food City:
5941 Kingston Pike
939 Alcoa Highway
City of Knoxville Downtown Recycling Center 400 State Street
Goodwill Collection Centers:
1. 225 W. Moody Avenue
2. Collection Center at the corner of Magnolia and Alice
3. 341 Parkvillage Road - across from P&S School Supply
4. 820 Metler Drive
Participating sponsors are The City of Knoxville, Advanced Polymer Recycling, Goodwill and Knox County Solid Waste Office.