State Employee Recycling Program
October 16, 2003
NASHVILLE
The U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency will present the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation
with a WasteWise Program Champion award for implementing the State Employees
Recycling Program (SERP), a comprehensive waste reduction program. TDEC
SERP Coordinator George Kesterson will be recognized for these extraordinary
achievements tonight at the WasteWise Annual Meeting and Awards Ceremony
taking place at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Washington, D.C.
“It’s an honor for TDEC to receive this prestigious
award from EPA,” said TDEC Commissioner Betsy L. Child. “TDEC
strives to lead by example, and we encourage organizations across the
state to consider waste prevention and recycling programs that are both
effective for their workplace and helpful to the environment.”
In 2002, TDEC held collection events for employees to
facilitate reuse and as a result, staff collected two cases of old cell
phones for use in a domestic safety program and 75 coats for needy families.
Holiday greeting cards, eyeglasses and coat hangers were also donated
and reused.
The department’s Web site provides waste reduction
tips such as publishing documents on the Intranet rather than in hard
copy format and putting new labels on old file folders. The TDEC Web
site is frequently updated and employees and citizens are invited to
visit the site to obtain recycling ideas.
Recycling is a key component of TDEC’s waste reduction
program. In 2002 alone, employees recycled more than 1,200 tons of mixed
paper. TDEC also purchases recycled content paper, envelopes and file
folders.
WasteWise is a voluntary partnership program launched
by EPA in 1994. The program provides guidance and recognition to more
than 1,300 participating organizations working to find practical methods
to reduce municipal solid waste and improve financial performance.
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