INSTITUTION
WINNER: Samsel Upper Elementary School
The administration, staff and students at Samsel Upper Elementary School in Sayreville have spearheaded a bottle cap recycling program, a composter recycling project and a waste-free lunch program. As a result of the waste-free lunch program, students are using more reusable containers and recycling their paper bags. The faculty also uses reusable lunch bags, coffee mugs and thermoses.  The school’s recycling efforts are paying off, with a dramatic increase in the amount of paper and cardboard recycled.

GOVERNMENT
WINNER: Vernon Township
The Vernon Township Department of Public Works took over the daily operations of the local recycling center, previously run by outside vendors. Under DPW management, the center is saving money on operating costs while generating revenues from the sale of recyclables. At the same time, operating hours remained the same, and the basic recyclables continued to be accepted, with the addition of other items such as scrap metal, white goods, consumer electronics, used motor oil, batteries, rigid plastics, and used clothing. In 2010 with outside vendor management, Vernon Township recycled 623 tons; in 2011, with DPW management, they recycled 821 tons—an increase of 32 percent.

RISING STAR
WINNER: Jacob Sperber
As a student at the Woodcliff Middle School in Woodcliff Lake, Jacob Sperber noted that hundreds of water bottles were being tossed into the trash on a weekly basis. He displayed leadership by developing a plan that included outreach, incentives, assemblies, and contests to educate fellow students about the need to recycle bottles. His dedication eventually resulted in the recycling of thousands of bottles. As a result of his work, the school expanded recycling efforts to include hundreds of pounds of batteries.  

RECYCLING INDUSTRY
WINNER: Atlantic Coast Fibers
Committed to a “zero-landfill society,” Atlantic Coast Fibers has operated in Passaic for more than 80 years.  The company recently made aggressive investments in new equipment to create a modern and efficient single-stream recycling facility capable of sorting 25 to 30 tons per hour of recyclables. Through the use of advanced automated equipment, the company can handle 30,000 to 40,000 tons per month of commingled containers and single stream recyclables.

SOURCE REDUCTION/RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
Sunny Delight Beverages Co.
Sunny Delight Beverages Co.’s Dayton plant is proud of its zero waste to landfill achievement. The company maximizes recycling by conducting waste audits, researching recycling facilities, and following a recycling protocol that focuses first on reducing waste, then on reuse, and finally on maximizing recycling. Waste that can’t be reused or recycled goes to cogeneration. The plant has increased recycling by 54 percent rom 2007 to the present. The plant buys only recycled paper, and all its cardboard and bottle purchases have recycled content. The facility allows employees with limited curbside recycling to bring their recyclables to the site for inclusion in its recycling streams.

STUDENT POETRY CONTEST WINNERS
GRADE 4: Alex Conklin, Beach Haven Elementary School, Beach Haven; Elizabeth Piatkowski, Saint Peter School, Point Pleasant Beach; Calvin Lin, Dawes Avenue School, Somers Point; Maggie Boyle, Horace Mann School, Bayonne.