Tennessee's State Employee Recycling Program Wins EPA Award

Nashville, Tenn. – The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) and the State Employee Recycling Program will receive a State Government Partner of the Year Award from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) later this month.The State Employee Recycling Program, coordinated by TDEC’s Office of Environmental Assistance, has received a WasteWise Partner of the Year Award from EPA the past four years and continues to expand its waste prevention and recycling efforts. With nearly 50,000 state employees participating, eight new locations were added in 2006 to the more than 50 buildings already taking part in the program.“I appreciate EPA’s recognition of the commitment our state employees have made to being good stewards of the environment,” said Governor Phil Bredesen. “I hope employees in both the public and private sectors across Tennessee will continue to focus on waste reduction efforts and make a commitment to reduce, recycle and reuse to protect our natural resources for future generations.”

A key component of the State Employee Recycling Program is its focus on waste prevention practices. In 2005, the program saved nearly $40,000 in disposal costs and received more than $25,000 in recycling revenue. One unique element of the state’s waste reduction effort is the Green Cubicle Program, which sets aside space for the collection of non-traditional items such as clothing, coat hangers, eyeglasses and greeting cards for reuse, donation and recycling.

Tennessee’s State Employee Recycling Program is one of only 10 programs and organizations set to receive an EPA Partner of the Year Award at EPA’s 2006 WasteWise Annual Conference in Arlington, Va., on Oct. 20, 2006.

WasteWise is a free and voluntary partnership program that was launched by EPA in 1994. The program provides guidance and recognition to nearly 1,900 participating organizations that are working to find practical methods to reduce municipal solid waste and improve financial performance. For more information about EPA’s WasteWise program, please visit the WasteWise Web site at www.epa.gov/wastewise or contact the WasteWise Helpline at (800) EPA-WISE (372-9473).

For information about Tennessee’s State Employee Recycling Program, visit: www.tdec.net/ea/serp.

For more information contact:

Tisha Calabrese-Benton
Office (865) 594-5442