Pleasant Grove Elementary Receives 1st Quarter Recycling Award from Target Recycling

DALTON, GA -  On Friday, January 28, the students and faculty at Pleasant Grove Elementary School received an award for having the highest recycling rate during the first quarter of the 2010 – 2011 school year.  During the months of August, September, and October, Pleasant Grove reached an average recycling rate of 17.1 pounds per student collecting a grand total of 9,110 pounds of recyclables.  Recycling Ben, mascot of the Target Recycling program, presented PeeGee, mascot for the school, a grey heavy-duty cart to help collect recycling bins from classrooms and offices.  Students cheered when PeeGee accepted the award during the school assembly.

Target Recycling is a recycling program managed by the Dalton-Whitfield Solid Waste Authority, which includes educational opportunities and recognition of participation to public and private schools in Whitfield County.  Since the Fall of 2008 local schools have hosted Target Recycling Containers where they collect mixed paper products like cardboard, paper, office paper, books, cereal boxes, magazines, and newspapers.  Each quarter of the school year the school with the highest recycling rate receives an award that will help improve the recycling program or beautify their campus.  Awards include items like recycling bins for classrooms or benches made from recycled materials.

To improve the recycling rate at your school, contact Liz Swafford, Recycling and Education Program Coordinator, at 706-278-5001, e-mail: lswafford@dwswa.org.

Over 550 Christmas Trees Treecycled

DALTON, GA -  On Saturday, January 8, residents of Whitfield County participated in the annual Christmas tree recycling event called “Bring One For The Chipper”.  The free event organized by Keep Dalton-Whitfield Beautiful took place at The Home Depot on Shugart Road and included the participation of 25 volunteers from several organizations.  “Bring One For The Chipper” has been a holiday tradition in Dalton-Whitfield for over ten years.  The 2011 event marked 20 years of “treecycling” in the state of Georgia.

During the event 145 residents dropped off their live Christmas tree for recycling in exchange for free seedlings, seeds, discount coupons, and if they came during lunch, a free spicy biscuit from Chick-fil-A.  Mascots greeting visitors included the Chipper, official mascot for “Bring One For The Chipper”, the Chick-fil-A Spicy Cow, and Recycling Ben from the Target Recycling Program.  Trees collected were recycled into mulch that will be used for beautification projects and is available for free to residents within Whitfield County.

Residents who missed the event were able to “treecycle” with curbside pickup from City of Dalton Public Works or yard waste drop-off at a Convenience Center.  During December and January, over 550 Christmas trees were collected in Whitfield County through the event and secondary collection options.  Statewide over 5.5 million trees have been recycled as mulch or habitats for wildlife since the beginning of the program in 1991.

Keep Dalton-Whitfield Beautiful would like to thank the following organizations for contributing to this year’s event: Dalton-Whitfield Solid Waste Authority, Whitfield County - Georgia Forestry Commission, Whitfield County Public Works Department, The Home Depot in Dalton, Dalton Falls Miniature Golf, Chick-fil-A on Walnut Ave. I-75, City of Dalton Public Works Department, The Daily Citizen, and Daylight Donuts on Old Dixie Hwy.  State level sponsors for this year’s event include the Georgia Department of Community Affairs’ Keep Georgia Beautiful program, The Home Depot, The Davey Tree Expert Company, Ferry-Morse Seed Co., and 11 Alive – Atlanta’s NBC Affiliate.

For more information visit www.KeepDaltonWhitfieldBeautiful.org or call 706-278-5001.

Electronic waste piling up

The Dalton-Whitfield Solid Waste Authority's electronics recycling program was featured in a story by the Chattanooga Times Free Press on January 20, 2011. To read the whole story click here: Electronic Waste Piling Up

Whitfield County and Dalton, Ga., have collected e-scrap since the county collected 13.4 tons in its first drop-off event in February 2008, said Liz Swafford with the Dalton-Whitfield Solid Waste Authority.

In 2010, the waste authority collected 12.66 tons of e-scrap for recycling — equivalent to the weight of 10 compact cars, Swafford said.

Electronics recycling is available year round at the Old Dixie Hwy. Landfill and Convenience Center location only. Please see the on site attendant for assistance.

Treecycling Event this Saturday

DALTON, GA -  The Chipper and Recycling Ben invite you to treecycle this Saturday, January 8, during “Bring One For The Chipper!” 2011.  Keep Dalton-Whitfield Beautiful volunteers will be at The Home Depot at 875 Shugart Road in Dalton from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm collecting live, undecorated Christmas trees for recycling.

In exchange for dropping off a live Christmas tree for the Chipper participants will receive a free tree seedling or a packet of seeds, and a pass to play a free round of mini golf at Dalton Falls Mini Golf.

Saturday’s treecycling event will include the participation of Chick-fil-A’s Spicy Cow from 11 am to 2 pm.  The Chipper mascot and Recycling Ben, mascot for the Target Recycling program, will be available to greet visitors from 12:30 pm to 2 pm.

Christmas trees dropped off for recycling must be free of ornaments, nails, hooks, wires, tinsel, lights, and other decorations.  Only natural, live, real trees will be accepted, no artificial trees please.

“Bring One For The Chipper” has been a holiday tradition in Dalton-Whitfield for over ten years.  The 2011 event also marks 20 years of “treecycling” in the state of Georgia. Over 5.5 million trees have been recycled as mulch or habitats for wildlife since the beginning of the program in 1991.

Local sponsors and event organizers include Keep Dalton-Whitfield Beautiful, Dalton-Whitfield Solid Waste Authority, Whitfield County Public Works Department, The Home Depot in Dalton, Whitfield County - Georgia Forestry Commission, Dalton Falls Miniature Golf, Chick-fil-A on Walnut Ave. at I-75, and Daylight Donuts on Old Dixie.  State sponsors for this year’s event include the Georgia Department of Community Affairs’ Keep Georgia Beautiful program, The Home Depot, The Davey Tree Expert Company, Ferry-Morse Seed Co., and 11 Alive – Atlanta’s NBC Affiliate.

Whitfield County residents that are not able to attend the event are encouraged to take their Christmas tree to one of four Convenience Centers which have drop-off locations for yard debris that is mulched year round.  These include the McGaughey Chapel, M.L.King Blvd., Westside, and the Old Dixie Hwy. Landfill & Convenience Center.  For hours of operation and directions visit www.DWSWA.org or call 706-278-5001.

For more details visit www.KeepDaltonWhitfieldBeautiful.org or call 706-278-5001.

“I Will Recycle” Billboard is Live

2010 America Recycles Day Billboard Contest Design Winner Featured

DALTON, GA – Two billboards in Whitfield County now feature the winning artwork from the first 2010 America Recycles Day Billboard Contest hosted by the Dalton-Whitfield Solid Waste Authority’s program Target Recycling at School.  On America Recycles Day, November 15, the winning design chosen from over 200 entries from middle school students was announced to the public.  Esmeralda Perez, Dalton Middle School 7th grader, won first place overall with her billboard artwork that simply states, “I Will Recycle” and includes the America Recycles Day slogan, “I Recycle”.

Her colorful design is featured on two billboards that will be live until the end of the year.  The final design also invites the public to learn how they can recycle by calling 706-278-5001 or visiting www.DWSWA.org online.  The first billboard is located on Walnut Ave. in Dalton next to Walnut Square Mall, and the second billboard is on Chattanooga Rd. in Rocky Face near Tijuana’s Mexican Restaurant.

“It was a joy to see the environmentally friendly spirit of middle school students in the Dalton-Whitfield community shining through the contest entries.” said Liz Swafford, Recycling and Education Program Coordinator at the DWSWA.  “I’d like to thank the teachers and students from our local middle schools for participating and making this first billboard contest a big success.  We look forward to hosting this contest again for America Recycles Day 2011.”

In addition to the overall winner, each middle school grade also had a 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winner. 6th grade: 1st Place, Ryan Neal, North Whitfield Middle School, 2nd Place, Vy Huynh, Dalton Middle School, 3rd Place, Victor Chavarria, Dalton Middle School.  7th grade: 1st Place, Esmeralda Perez, Dalton Middle School, 2nd Place MyKayla Hicks, North Whitfield Middle School, 3rd Place, Grace Wiggins, North Whitfield Middle School.   8th grade: 1st Place, Brianna Giron, Eastbrook Middle School, 2nd Place, Carrie Carlton, Dalton Middle School, 3rdPlace, Axel Aguila, New Hope Middle School. The nine students received goodie bags and a certificate of participation from DWSWA staff.  Their entries can be seen online at www.DWSWA.org.