Got a Phone Book You Don't Need? RECYCLE IT, Please.

Recycle Rutherford and the Rutherford County Solid Waste Department are encouraging Rutherford County students to recycle in the annual telephone book collection. In a competition open to all public and private schools within the county, students can collect used telephone books to win a cash prize for their classrooms. The contest will run from now through October 25. The drawing for the winners will be held at the Recycle Rutherford semiannual meeting on Monday October 28 at 7 p.m. at the Rutherford County Courthouse.

You don't have to be a student to recycle phone books. If you don't know a teacher or student that will take your phone book, you can recycle it at one of the collection locations. The bins will remain in place until the end of October.

"The phone book recycling program provides the perfect opportunity for environmental lessons in the classroom," said Linda Stevens, coordinator of the project for Recycle Rutherford. "Our goals include not only reducing the amount of waste disposed of in Rutherford County, but also teaching students to care for the environment."

Participating teachers encourage their students to bring in used telephone books, and then tabulate the number of books collected. The teacher or a volunteer delivers the books to a collection center. At the end of the collection, each teacher emails Recycle Rutherford at recyclerutherford@yahoo.com by Friday October 25 to report the total number of books turned in by his or her class. Each set of ten phone books turned in earns a class one entry in a drawing for a $100 cash prize. Fifteen classes will earn these prizes.

All Rutherford County residents are encouraged to recycle phone books by giving them to a student at a participating school or by dropping them at one of the following collection sites:

Smyrna Town Hall parking lot, 315 S Lowry St., Smyrna – 24 hours a day

Haley Road Recycling Center, 1140 Haley Road, Murfreesboro – 24 hours a day

MTSU Recycling Center, 1500 Greenland Drive, Murfreesoboro – 24 hours a day

You may also recycle phone books in mixed paper recycling bins at convenience centers and schools around the county.

Facts about the Murfreesboro/Smyrna phone book:

All phone books are recyclable. Recycled phone books are made into useful products such as animal bedding, insulation, cereal boxes, roofing shingles, new phone books and more. Most phone directories are made from recycled paper waste and wood fiber waste such as sawdust and wood chips left over from lumber processing operations.

Contact Information:

The members of Recycle Rutherford provide the money to offer prizes. If you wish to contribute, contact the organization at recyclerutherford@yahoo.com.

Recycle Rutherford is a volunteer organization dedicated to increasing recycling in Rutherford County. To join, volunteer, or request more information, please visitwww.recyclerutherford.org.