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America Recycles Day: Indiana's Really Taking Off!Plans for America Recycles Day Indiana are really coming together! Premiere Statewide Sponsors this year include Cinergy, Simon DeBartolo Group, Eco Partners, Quest Marketing and Solutions, Paper Trail, Inc., Glass Packaging Institute, Goldsmith Recycling Group, Center Print, PTS Electronics, and Waste Management. Each of these sponsors has graciously donated goods or services and agreed to host, underwrite, or participate in an event to help make this year's Indiana America Recycles Day campaign successful! In addition to statewide sponsors, several statewide prizes have been donated & include:
Over 5000 events are being planned around the nation, and our goal is to have 100 in Indiana alone! Informational meetings are being held around the state to distribute Special Event Planning Guides and help interested businesses and organizations begin planning events. For a list of meeting dates or to become involved, contact the IRC office toll free at 877-283-9550 or locally by calling 317-283-6226. Please leave information in the America Recycles Day mailbox. The national web site (www.americarecyclesday.org) is up and running, as is the state web site at www.papertrail.com/irc/ard. This year national pledges can be entered via the NATIONAL web site, although these entries WILL NOT be included in the statewide drawing. To find out where you can pledge your recycling efforts and enter the American Green Dream House Drawing, contact your local solid waste district or call the IRC office at the above listed numbers. For details on events planned around the state or in your area, to plan an event of your own, or for questions, please contact Cathy Bastin: 317-745-2491 or Bobbi Steiff: 317-233-5622; or contact the IRC office and leave a message in the America Recycles Day mailbox. |
 Also in this issue....
News BriefsNRC NewsNews from Around Indiana
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by Brook Edwards, 1999 Conference Committee Chairman
During the last 12 months, planning an IRC Conference has taken on a whole new meaning. The committee has already agreed upon conference locations for the next two years and is currently studying proposals to host the 2001 Conference in Northern Indiana. Believe it or not, that is the length of time it takes to obtain a Hotel-Conference Center for the desired conference dates.
The 1999 IRC Conference will be held in Evansville on May 10th and 11th. This will be our first venture away from the friendly boundaries of Central Indiana. The committee is trying extremely hard to make this, the 10th Annual Conference, memorable in what attendees are able to see and learn. Moving the Conference around Indiana will give our members the opportunity to showcase waste reduction and recycling efforts in their part of the state. We have already had two groups come forward wanting to be part of the Evansville Conference; they are the Vanderburgh County SWMD and our own SIRI group which is part of the IRC. We have also received a commitment from the Steel Recycling Institute to be a Major Sponsor for the 1999 Evansville Conference.
Early publicity allows our sponsors the opportunity to promote their involvement with the conference for a much longer period of time. The Committee is seeking help from all IRC members, especially those that live in Southern Indiana. We want to make our first conference away from Indianapolis a successful event for everyone involved. We are looking for session ideas as well as site tours in the Evansville area. We want to talk with companies and organizations from Southern Indiana who might be interested in becoming a Conference Sponsor. Being so close to Kentucky, Illinois and Missouri, we are also seeking representation from those states.
Please submit your ideas and sponsorship commitments to the committee. The easiest way is to either call or fax them directly to Brook Edwards, the Conference Chair for Evansville. Phone number is 765-675-6200 or Fax to 765-675-6207. Email address is: [email protected]. The Conference Committee meets every third Thursday at 4:00 PM in one of the conference rooms of the Environmental Management Institute on Indianapolis' westside. Meetings are just prior to the monthly IRC meetings. All are welcome and encouraged to attend.
by Jeanann Ficker, Performance Measurement Group
In an effort to better serve its Northwest Indiana members, the Indiana Recycling Coalition conducted a roundtable meeting in Merrillville on Thursday, July 9, 1998. Approximately 12 individuals attended the meeting, which included information sharing between participants about their recycling efforts. The discussion also featured identification of needs to enable Northwest Indiana recyclers to better serve their clientele. The Lake County Solid Waste Management District and Performance Measurement Group provided lunch for the group.
The meeting was organized and led by former IRC Board member Jeanann Ficker. "The motivation for the meeting was the fact that the IRC has a significant concentration of members in Northwest Indiana, yet the organization has limited visibility in the area," said Ficker. "The meeting allowed us to identify areas where the IRC can provide information or sponsor 'site visits' to showcase local recycling efforts," Ficker said.
Areas of particular interest were improved business recycling, enhanced apartment recycling, and better solid waste generation data reporting. IDEM's Bobbi Steiff reported on Indiana's participation in America Recycles Day and described how local events can be incorporated into the statewide calendar of events.
Interestingly, only half of the attendees were IRC members. Several individuals who were non-members expressed interest in joining the IRC and were provided applications for membership.
According to Lisa Ashby, Education Specialist for the Lake County Solid Waste Management District, "the meeting was a great success." Ashby, also a former IRC Board member, continued, "the event demonstrated there is an interest in arranging local recycling promotion and net-working events, as well as showing there is an opportunity for the IRC to increase its membership in Northwest Indiana."
Event organizers wish to express their appreciation to Melinda Antell, Janet Fox Neltner, and the entire IRC Board for its support of the Northwest Indiana meeting. The event marks the beginning of an effort to organize Northwest Indiana recycling programming and increase the IRC's presence in the area.
Editor's Note: Yes Northern Indiana, we are coming NORTH for the IRC Conference in 2001!!!
John Hamilton, IDEM Commissioner, visited the Monroe County Solid Waste District July 15th, 1998 to deliver a check for $86,895.00. The check represents 75% of a $115,860.00 grant commitment to support a statewide mercury awareness and collection program. It was awarded to the District on behalf of the Regional Household Hazardous Waste Taskforce. As he handed the check to Iris Kiesling, President of the District Board of Directors, Commissioner Hamilton thanked both the Taskforce and the Monroe County Solid Waste Management for their roles in getting the project off the ground.
The mercury collection project is part of Governor Frank O'Bannon's Building Bright Beginnings initiative to improve the lives of Indiana children. It aims to educate the public about the dangers mercury can pose to children and the environment if improperly disposed or handled. Mercury recycling collection programs will be in place in every Indiana county by this October.
For those solid waste management districts that pledge to continue collecting mercury and mercury-containing products after October, the Indiana Department of Environmental Management will pay the costs of recycling, processing, and transportation for the October collections.
Program development and implementation of the mercury program will fall under the responsibilities of the Taskforce Project Director, Stephanie Biehn. As Project Director, Biehn will also be available to solid waste management districts across Indiana for consultation and assistance with their Household Hazardous Waste programs. Stephanie can be reached at [email protected] or 812-349-2115.
| September 17 & October 15 | 5:30 p.m. | IRC Monthly Meetings,Environmental Management Institute, 5610 Crawfordsville Road, Speedway, IN 46224. Contact Melinda Antell for information: 317-738-2546. Remember: 1999 Conference Committee Meetings begin at 4:00 p.m. same day and place. |
| September 22 | 9:30 a.m. | Buy Recycled Taskforce Meeting, IDEM - OPPTA, 7th Floor Conference Room, ISTA Bldg., Indpls. Contact Sarah Carney, [email protected] or 317-232-8944 |
| September 23 | 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. | First Annual Indiana P2 Conference and Trade Show: P2 Technologies at Work. Valle Vista Conference Center, 755 E. Main Street, Greenwood, IN. For information contact: Charles Sullivan, IDEM-OPPTA, 317-232-8174. |
| September 26 - October 4 | All Day Everday | America Recycles Day - Simon DeBartolo Mall Campaign. Activities and buy recycled products available in fourteen malls across Indiana. Kickoff Press Conference - Saturday 9/26 at Castleton Square Mall's Center Court. Contact Cathy Bastin: 317-745-2491. |
| September 30 - October 2 | All Day Everyday | Zero Waste Conference: You Decide - Fact or Fiction?Radisson Harbour Inn, Sandusky, OH. Contact the Association of Ohio Recyclers for conference information: 888-718-6639. |
| November 11-13 | All Day | Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE) Annual Recycling Conference '98. Hotel Inter-Continental Chicago, 505 N. Michigan Avenue, Chicago, IL 60611. For information and registration form call: 800-991-0082 or 847-991-4615. |
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Copyright 1998 by the Indiana Recycling Coalition
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