National Recycling Coalition honors winners of prestigious 2016 Awards

By Paul Ploumis (ScrapMonster Author)

September 21, 2016 02:56:04 PM

SPOKANE (Scrap Monster): Washington-headquartered National Recycling Coalition (NRC) has announced winners of 2016 Recycling Awards. The award winners were honored at the Resource Recycling Conference in New Orleans. The awards were presented to the recipients at the 2016 Murray J. Fox Scholarship and NRC Annual Awards Luncheon. The awards are segmented into various categories and are designed to honor outstanding individuals, programs, and organizations for their achievements.

The winners of the Outstanding Business Leadership For-Profit Company Award were Sheetz Inc. and Weis Markets Inc.

Sheetz Inc. is being recognized for their effort to pilot test bins, hauling contracts, and employee training to find a solution which it has presently rolled out to almost 70% of its locations. The company which currently diverts over 8 million bottles and cans is expecting to step up the diversion to hit 12 million upon completion of the roll-out.

According to NRC, Weis Markets Inc.’s creativity in manufacturing recyclables such as recycled wax paper into new products has helped them to sizably reduce their carbon footprint. The company achieved 22.1% reduction in carbon footage, thereby surpassing the 20% goal set for 2020. The award also recognizes the company’s efforts to compost from food from nearly 70 stores. Weis also uses customer plastic bags to make Trex lumber, which in turn are used to manufacture benches that are donated to community organizations.

The Outstanding Business Leadership Not-For-Profit Company Award was presented to La Soupe of Cincinnati. The company partners with grocery stores, organic farmers and chefs to conduct after-school cooking classes. The business rescues food and feeds children in food deserts.

Indiana Recycling Coalition (IRC) and Texas Star were selected as winners of Outstanding Recycling Organization Award.

IRC is being recognized for its campaign against Indianapolis mixed waste facility. The award is also in recognition for the efforts to successfully launch the high school scholarship program named Indiana Student Recycling Leadership Corps (SRLC) in partnership with PepsiCo. IRC had also launched the Indiana Food Scrap Initiative (IFSI)- an initiative aimed at exploring the issues that cause food waste.

Texas Star has played a significant role by strengthening partnerships and relationships with other NGOs in the state to boost recycling efforts. It has also made huge impact on state’s recycling industry by associating itself with the Texas Data Recycling Initiative (TDRI), noted NRC.

Margretta Morris, vice president of materials management and community affairs, Covanta was selected as the winner of this year’s Lifetime Achievement in Recycling Award. With more than 25 years of experience in sustainable materials management, Morris has worked with communities around the United States to implement sustainable waste management and recycling systems. At Covanta, she leads the company's community outreach initiatives, such as Fishing for Energy and Prescription for Safety (Rx4Safety), and mercury collections.

The other award categories and winners are as follows:-

Outstanding Higher Education- Johnson County Community College in Overland Park, Kansas

Outstanding Community or Government Program- The Chapel Hill – Carrboro School District, North Carolina

Outstanding Community or Government Program, Honorable Mention- City of Columbia, South Carolina, School District

Bill Heenan Emerging Leader- Laurel Stelter of Iowa

About National Recycling Coalition

The National Recycling Coalition is a non-profit organization focused on promoting and enhancing recycling in the United States. The mission of the National Recycling Coalition is to partner with and facilitate activities between and among non-profit organizations (NGO’s), businesses, trade associations, individuals and government to maintain a prosperous and productive American recycling system that is committed to the conservation of natural resources.