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Schools Open Newspaper Recycling Bins To The Public

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By KLINT LOWRY | The Suncoast News

Published: July 15, 2008

Updated:

LAND O' LAKES - Some deals aren't worth the paper they're printed on, but the District School Board of Pasco County and the county's Utilities Department have teamed up on a project in which everyone should come out ahead.

The school district and county government are working together to promote more newspaper recycling in Pasco County. Newspaper recycling containers at 35 schools throughout the district are now available for use by the general public.

"After polling principals, a number of schools have indicated they are willing to allow the public to access their newspaper drop offs," Pasco Schools Recycling Coordinator Karen Bryant said. "This is a great way for the schools and the county to work together to promote recycling."

The district has an aggressive recycling program, recycling about 1,500 tons of material each year, according to Bryant. Newspaper and cardboard account for a large portion of that total. By opening those recycling bins to the public, the hope is to improve their impact both environmentally and financially.

Jennifer Seney, Pasco County's Recycling Coordinator, is all for the idea.

"Pasco County does not currently accept newspapers for recycling in our curbside door-to-door recycling program," Reney said. "We do have seven drop offs throughout the County, but that's not enough to serve an area as large as we are."

The county picks up tens of thousands of tons of refuse every year, Seney said. Her job is to see how much of it can be plucked from the "waste stream" before it winds up in an incinerator or landfill. She's interested in any new way to recycle plastic, metal and paper.

About a third of the tonnage in the waste stream is paper, Seney said, and she estimated newspaper makes up about five percent of that. The chance to eliminate such a significant part of that is the sort of thing she dreams about.

In the first five months of this fiscal year, from October 2007 through February this year, 137 tons of newspaper were collected at those seven sites.

"I'm thrilled," Seney said. "It's like we've just gone from seven sites to 42."

It's a win-win proposition, Seney said. The pop "Encouraging this program with the schools is a win-win. We make recycling more convenient for the public by providing more drop-offs; the schools raise money and all of Pasco wins."

A local business, Land O' Lakes Recycling, provides and services the newspaper recycling containers free of charge and pays schools monthly for every newspaper that is recycled. Each school keeps 100 percent of the profits from the newspapers collected at its site.

"Newspaper recycling can be a great fundraiser for our schools," Bryant said. "Individual schools have earned as much as $7,000 in a year by recycling newspapers."

The containers have always been an easy, inexpensive way for parents and grandparents to show support for their children's schools, Bryant said.

Schools could profit even more this year. Cindy Glenn, one of the owners of Land O' Lakes Recycling, said the price of recycled newspaper just went up in the past month, to $100 a ton. Land O'Lakes Recycling has worked with the district for over 10 years, and they also stand to make more money, as they sell the newspaper to half a dozen paper mills in the area that Glenn said specialize in making100 percent recycled paper.

Schools in west Pasco with newspaper recycling containers available to the public include Cotee River Elementary School, New Port Richey; Cypress Elementary School, New Port Richey; Deer Park Elementary School, New Port Richey; Gulf High School, New Port Richey; Gulf Middle School, New Port Richey; Gulfside Elementary School, Holiday; Harry S. Schwettman Education Center, New Port Richey; Hudson Elementary School, Hudson; Hudson Middle School, Hudson; Mittye P. Locke Elementary School, New Port Richey; Northwest Elementary School, Hudson; Richey Elementary School, New Port Richey; Ridgewood High School, New Port Richey; River Ridge Middle School, New Port Richey; Shady Hills Elementary School, Spring Hill; Seven Springs Elementary School, New Port Richey; and Sunray Elementary School, Holiday.

Days and hours of access vary at each location. For a complete rundown of schools throughout the county with newspaper recycling containers, their addresses and phone numbers, their location at each school and days and hours of accessibility, go to www.suncoastnews.com>, click on the Pasco page and do a keyword search for "Newspaper recycling."

The schools accepting newspapers for recycling can also be found on the Pasco County recycling Web site at http://pascocountyfl.net" rel="nofollow">class="bold">http://pascocountyfl.net and the District School Board of Pasco County Resource Recovery recycling Web site at http://recycle.pasco.k12.fl.us.

Klint Lowry can be reached at 727-815-1067 or klowry@suncoastnews.com.

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