Three Local Schools Place in Nationwide Recycling Contest

Three local schools make it to the Top Five in Georgia

(Dalton, GA, February 28, 2013) – Keep America Beautiful, Inc., the nation's largest volunteer-based community action and education organization, has announced the winners of "Recycle-Bowl", the first comprehensive nationwide recycling competition for elementary-, middle- and high-school students. 65 schools in Georgia participated at the state level recycling as much as possible during the weeks of October 15, 2012 to November 9, 2012. Three local schools placed in the Top 5 in Georgia taking second, third, and fourth place.

Public and private schools in Whitfield County currently participate in Target Recycling at School, a free recycling collection service offered by the Dalton-Whitfield Solid Waste Authority. With the assistance of the DWSWA's recycling center, 35 local schools were registered for the 2nd annual nationwide competition. Each school received a kit to help promote recycling in their school with posters and educational activities.

At the end of the competition period the weights of the recyclables collected at each school were reported to Recycle-Bowl staff. The national winner was Taylor Primary in Kokomo, Indiana. A full list of statewide winners can be found at www.Recycle-Bowl.org. Below are the top five schools in the state of Georgia for Recycle-Bowl 2012:

Georgia's Top 5 Recycle-Bowl Competitors:
1. Kingsley Elementary School, Dunwoody, GA
2. New Hope Middle School, Dalton, GA
3. Dug Gap Elementary School, Dalton, GA
4. Learning Tree Elementary School, Dalton, GA
5. Brighten Academy, Douglasville, GA

The total amount of school only recyclables recovered nationwide during the 2012 competition added up to 4.5 million pounds, which in turn prevented the release of nearly 1,717 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (MTCO2E). In real-world terms, this reduction in greenhouse gases is equivalent to the annual emissions from 334 passenger cars.

"Keep America Beautiful is pleased with the great momentum Recycle-Bowl achieved in its second year, thanks to the effort of students, teachers and school administrators across America," said Matt McKenna, president and CEO of Keep America Beautiful. "Recycle-Bowl provides teachers with a great opportunity to integrate math, science and sustainability lessons into classroom curricula through experiential education as well as a way to introduce recycling into a school's general operations."

Recycle & Reuse: Show your love with a newspaper rose

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To celebrate Valentine’s Day (which is tomorrow!), let’s make an upcycled single stem rose from today’s newspaper. Once you know how to make a basic flower shape you may want to go beyond a single stemmed rose and make a whole bouquet, make bigger flowers, or go stemless and use only roses to decorate a gift box or photo frame. Read on for three simple flower-making techniques that are ideal for newspaper but can also be used for other types of paper.

You’ll need newspaper from your recycling bin, a pen or pencil, a pair of scissors, a ruler and an adhesive such as glue, glue dots, hot glue gun, glue stick or tape. For the stem you’ll need a twig from the backyard, a pencil or a tightly rolled sheet of newspaper. Optional is a stapler and a set of markers or paints to color the rose once you’re finished making it. Even adding a little bit of color to the edges will make the flower pop. Also optional is a flower vase, depending on how you want to present the rose to your loved one.

Newspaper rose technique No. 1, The Spiral:

Using your ruler and a pen or pencil, measure a 7 by 7 inch square on your sheet of newspaper. Fold the newspaper or add more sheets to cut out multiple squares at once. You can use any size square you want, however, the smaller the square, the smaller your rose will be.

On one of the squares draw a spiral shape with a pen or pencil. Start at the center of the square and continue until you reach the edges. The spiral doesn’t have to be perfect, but do try to leave an even amount of space between each line. Cut out the spiral shape by starting at the outer edge and cutting along the line that you drew until you reach the center. Cut off the excess paper, like the corner edges of the square-shaped paper. If you have stacked several sheets and cut them together, be extra cautious. The spirals will get tangled up.

Place the end of your stem at the outer edge of one of the spirals and tightly roll up the strip of paper, following the spiral shape until you get to the center. Lift up the stem and flower and let the paper unwind slightly. Pinch the bottom of the flower and adjust the width of the petals. When it’s the size you like, add glue to the bottom and any loose edges that may cause the flower to fall apart. To give it a more natural feel, gently push back the edges of the petals. Once you’re comfortable making a rose from one spiral shape, try making one with three or four stacked spiral cutouts for a thicker flower.

Bonus tip, leaves: Make leaves for your flowers by cutting out a diamond shape from leftover pieces of newspaper. Curl back the edges of the diamond cutouts and squeeze one end together to give it a more natural shape. Glue to the stem or just underneath your new newspaper rose.

Newspaper rose technique No. 2, The Circles:

Start with about eight newspaper squares that are 4 by 4 inches stacked on top of each other. Trim the edges to make a circle shape, or fold in half and cut out a u-shape. Once the circles are ready, stack them neatly and staple the center. You can also glue these together at the center but the flower may fall apart as you’re shaping it.

Squeeze and crinkle the newspaper to add texture, folding it in half several times. Open up the flower petals and curl back the edges. If you want to add color, this is a good time to do so. Glue or tape the flower to your stem, covering the staple, and adding newspaper leaves as desired.

Newspaper rose technique No. 3, The Strip:

Open and spread out a newspaper section that’s about two to four pages thick. Starting on the far left, vertically fold the newspaper towards the right for a four-inch fold. Continue folding over every four inches until you end up with a thick strip of newspaper.

Now you need to tightly roll the strip of paper from the bottom of the newspaper to the top. You’ll end up with a four-inch wide roll. Insert the stem into the center of the roll and adjust the shape and look of the rose. Once you find a shape you like, add glue to the bottom and in between several of the layers of paper. This flower is usually thick and will require more glue to stay on the stem. Add leaves and color to finish up.

These three techniques are simple and don’t require a lot of time to master. It may take you one or two tries before you make a rose that you’re pleased with. But no matter what technique you use to make your roses, I’m sure your loved ones will appreciate a hand-made gift that will last longer than a real rose.





Liz Swafford is the recycling and education program coordinator for the Dalton-Whitfield Solid Waste Authority. Contact her at (706) 278-5001 or at lswafford@dwswa.org.

This article was published in The Daily Citizen on Wednesday, February 13, 2013 and is also available here:  http://daltondailycitizen.com/opinion/x2056613398/Liz-Swafford-Show-your-love-with-a-newspaper-rose

Closed on Christmas Day and New Year’s Day

DWSWA Holiday Hours of Operation

Closed on Christmas Day and New Year’s Day

DALTON, GA – The Dalton-Whitfield Solid Waste Authority announced its Holiday Operating Schedule for the Landfill and Convenience Centers. Locations include the Old Dixie Landfill & Convenience Center, McGaughey Chapel Convenience Center, Westside Convenience Center, and the M.L. King Convenience Center. For more information visit www.DWSWA.org or call 706-277-2545.

Christmas and New Year’s Holiday Operating Schedule for Landfill and Convenience Centers

• Monday, December 24 – Christmas Eve - Early Closing – All Locations OPEN - 7:00 AM to 2:00 PM
• Tuesday, December 25 – Christmas Day – All Locations CLOSED
• Wednesday, December 26 – All Locations OPEN – 7:00 AM to 6:00 PM (McGaughey Chapel Normally Closed)
• Monday, December 31 - All Locations OPEN – 7:00 AM to 6:00 PM
• Tuesday, January 1 – New Year’s Day – All Locations CLOSED
• Wednesday, January 2 - All Locations OPEN – 7:00 AM to 6:00 PM (McGaughey Chapel Normally Closed)

Live Christmas Tree and Electronics Recycling Event Set for January 5

Annual Treecycling Event Features Electronics Collection For The First Time

(Dalton, GA, December 4, 2012) – Residents are invited to start their new year fresh by recycling their live Christmas tree and dropping off used electronic devices for recycling at the community’s annual “treecycling” event. On Saturday, January 5, 2013 Keep Dalton-Whitfield Beautiful volunteers will be collecting live, natural, undecorated Christmas trees and, for the first time, electronics for recycling. The free collection event will be held from 9:00 am to 1:00 pm at The Home Depot parking lot located at 875 Shugart Road in Dalton. 

Christmas trees must be free of ornaments, nails, hooks, wire, tinsel, lights, and other decorations. Only natural, live, real trees will be accepted – no artificial trees please. Trees will be recycled on site into mulch that will be used for beautification projects throughout Whitfield County. 

Used electronics accepted include computers, digital cameras, video cameras, cell phones, gaming systems and components, mp3 players, scanners, and laptops. There is a limit of one television accepted per vehicle. Electronics will be processed by Reworx Recycling, which is part of the Tommy Nobis’ Foundation program NobisWorks.

Please remember to secure your load for cleaner roads. Tie down and put a tarp on items placed in the back of a pick-up truck, trailer, or on the roof of a vehicle.

Those unable to participate the day of the event may use one of the following options to properly dispose of their holiday items.
1.) The City of Dalton Public Works Department will collect Christmas trees from the curb for city residents that have garbage collection service through the city. City residents should call 706-278-7077 to request pick-up. Yard debris is regularly picked up throughout the year every other week.
2.) The four Convenience Centers managed by the Dalton-Whitfield Solid Waste Authority have drop-off areas for yard debris that is recycled year round. These include the McGaughey Chapel, M.L.King Blvd., Westside, and the Old Dixie Hwy. Landfill & Convenience Center. 
3.) Electronics are collected for recycling year round at the Old Dixie Hwy. Landfill & Convenience Center. For hours of operation and directions to any of the four Convenience Centers visit www.DWSWA.org or call 706-277-2545.

Keep Dalton-Whitfield Beautiful would like to thank the following organizations for making this event possible: Dalton-Whitfield Solid Waste Authority, Reworx Recycling, Whitfield County Public Works Department, and The Home Depot in Dalton. For more details about the event visit www.KeepDaltonWhitfieldBeautiful.org or call 706-278-5001.