Paper Retriever Kicks Off Nationwide Paper Drive for Earth Day

HOUSTON, April 5 /PRNewswire/ -- Paper Retriever, a community paper-recycling program, today announced a month-long Nationwide Paper Drive aimed at encouraging community members to be good stewards of the environment while also supporting their community by recycling through Paper Retriever bins.

The paper drive, which will take place during the month of April to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Earth Day, will reward participating organizations that host Paper Retriever bins with a financial bonus. Currently, over 3,000 organizations have already registered to participate at www.paperretriever.com.

"Earth Day is a time for us to focus on the small things each of us can do to better our planet, " said Sylvain Longval, vice president of recycling, North America, for AbitibiBowater. "By simply recycling newspapers, junk mail and other recyclable paper in our green and yellow bins, communities have the opportunity to help non-profit organizations raise funds towards worthy projects, while also making smart environmental decisions, as well."

Paper Retriever is a simple recycling program that directly benefits the community as well as the environment. Schools, churches and other non-profit organizations in cities across the country place distinctive green and yellow Paper Retriever bins in highly visible areas outside their organizations where members of the community and the organization itself can donate their recyclable paper. The non-profit organizations are then paid based on the tonnage that their bin collects; those funds can be used for textbooks, playground repair, even school field trips or other programs.

Non-profit organizations that wish to participate in Paper Retriever's Nationwide Paper Drive will collect recyclable paper towards their Earth Day goals from April 1, 2010 until April 30, 2010.

Locations that match or recycle more paper (2 ton minimum) than they did during the month of April 2009 will double any amount they earn through the program for that month.

In addition, the host location with the highest collection amount nationwide will win $1000.

Paper Retriever operates in the following cities:

Community members who'd like to help local Paper Retriever partners participate in the drive can visit www.paperretriever.com to locate the most convenient bin, as well as learn more about what types of paper can be recycled through Paper Retriever.

About Paper Retriever

Paper Retriever is a simple paper-recycling program that directly benefits the community as well as the environment. Schools, churches and other non-profit organizations house green and yellow Paper Retriever bins for members of community to fill with recyclable paper goods. The non-profit organizations are then paid for the amount of paper they collect. There are over 18,000 Paper Retriever locations and over 26,000 Paper Retriever bins hosted in 23 major metropolitan areas across the United States. In 2009, materials recycled through Paper Retriever generated more than $3.8 million for over 15,000 non-profit organizations.  Paper Retriever is a subsidiary program of AbitibiBowater. For more information, visit www.paperretriever.com or head to www.facebook.com/paperretriever.

SOURCE Paper Retriever