Recyclebank Funds 27 Eco Projects with Green Schools Program

NEW YORK, April 16, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Recyclebank®, the company that rewards people for taking everyday green actions with discounts and deals, today announced it is fully funding 27 environmental projects at schools across the country through the Recyclebank Green Schools Program. The Recyclebank Green Schools Program annually awards grants for unique environmental projects that make a positive impact on students and their communities. This year, Recyclebank partnered with Domtar Corporation (NYSE: UFS) (TSX: UFS), the environmentally responsible paper company, who helped make more students' green projects a reality by contributing additional donation dollars to schools as well as awarding a year's supply of Domtar EarthChoice® Office Paper to the school with the most innovative project.

"We are incredibly excited to see the ingenuity put forth by schools in this year's Recyclebank Green School Program projects," said Karen Bray, vice president of marketing at Recyclebank. "Whether by planting a sustainable garden, starting a school-wide recycling program or teaching their community about the collective impact of seemingly small green actions, students and teachers are making an enormous impact through these efforts. We thank the Recyclebank Green School Program participants for being true environmental leaders."

Each year, the Recyclebank Green Schools Program awards environmental project grants to schools in Recyclebank communities. Together, these schools, their students and their communities work to encourage residents to donate Recyclebank Points that the company then transfers into real dollars for schools—turning a community's green actions into funds for a local school. This year, however, not all schools were able to garner enough points to fulfill their grant requests. Impressed by the creative approaches put forth in this year's grant applications, Recyclebank opted to fulfill each school's grant requests, which will enable all projects to be completed. For example, a school with the goal of raising $2,000 that collected $750 through point donation received the full $2,000 grant from Recyclebank.

Henry County Middle School in McDonough, Ga., came up with a fresh approach for promoting sustainability using art and is recognized for having this year's most innovative project. In addition to providing a year's supply of EarthChoice® Office Paper to the school, Domtar awarded $500 to each school that was able to reach 50 percent of its donation goal. More than half of the 27 participating schools reached 50 percent of their fundraising goals and will receive funds from Domtar.

"We are passionate about educating youth on the importance of employing sustainable resources in our communities," said Paige Goff, vice president of sustainability and business communications at Domtar. "From all of us at Domtar, we send our congratulations to the Henry County Middle School and all the participating schools. Your creation of these original projects has inspired a unique approach to environmental responsibility that we're proud to support."

As far as the winning proposal, students within the Henry County Middle School Pages Club, the Academic Reading Bowl, Student Council, and the eighth-grade advanced art class will scour classroom shelves and storage closets to transform used books into "book tree" art projects. The completed trees will be on display throughout the McDonough community to foster literacy and reinforce the importance of recycling.

"Participation in this project arms our students with a sustainability and resourcefulness lens to help better our community," said Melissa Wood, art teacher at Henry Country Middle School. "We are grateful to all the Recyclebank members who donated their points to our project, and to Domtar and Recyclebank for helping fund our project and make it possible."

Since 2007, Recyclebank Green Schools Program has granted more than $450,000 to over 150 school projects schools. To learn about other school grant projects this school year, visit https://www.recyclebank.com/contest.

ABOUT RECYCLEBANK
Recyclebank helps create a more sustainable future by rewarding people for taking everyday green actions with discounts and deals from more than 4,000 local businesses and national brands. Through its online platform and partnerships with municipalities, haulers, small businesses and corporate brands, Recyclebank empowers individuals to make a collective impact on the environment by increasing household recycling and taking other environmentally-friendly actions. A Certified B Corporation, Recyclebank has been recognized as a Technology Pioneer by the World Economic Forum, a Champion of the Earth by the United Nations Environment Program and for Outstanding Excellence in Public/Private Partnerships from the U.S. Conference of Mayors. Recyclebank is headquartered in New York City. For more information, visit www.Recyclebank.com.

MEDIA CONTACTS
Jeff Harse | Recyclebank
(212) 659-6491 | [email protected]

Suzanne Block | Bateman Group for Recyclebank
(415) 697-2572 | [email protected]

SOURCE Recyclebank