Recyclebank Green Schools Program Funds 38 Eco Projects, Exceeds $500K Grant Milestone in 2015

NEW YORK and TOLEDO, Ohio, May 6, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Recyclebank®, (www.recyclebank.com) the company that inspires and rewards smarter, everyday choices for a more sustainable future, today announced that through this year's Recyclebank Green Schools Program it will provide $69,000 in grants to environmental projects at 38 schools across the country. Each year, the Recyclebank Green Schools Program awards grants of up to $2,500 per school for unique environmental projects that positively affect students, schools and communities. With this year's grants, the program has provided more than $500,000 in grants to more than 200 schools since its inception in 2007.

Recyclebank's partner Domtar Corporation (NYSE: UFS) (TSX: UFS), the sustainable paper company, helps make more green projects a reality by contributing additional donation dollars to participating schools and offering a prize of Domtar EarthChoice® Office Paper to the most innovative projects. In 2015, Recyclebank expanded the Green Schools Program prizing by adding four sub-category prizes: Garden & Water, Recycling & Waste Reduction, Art & Sculpture and Sustainable & Creative Paper Usage. The grand prize winner for Most Innovative Project will receive a year's worth of paper from Domtar. Winners of each category will also receive a paper prize from Domtar. Here are the winners:

• Most Innovative Project: Imagine Hill Academy in Toledo, OH, for its "Green Roof" Project.
• Garden & Water Category Winner: John Story Jenks Academy for the Arts and Sciences, for its ecosystem program that shows the benefits of year-round gardening.
• Recycling & Waste Reduction Category Winner: North Allegheny School District in Pittsburgh, PA, for its recycling education program at district athletic events.
• Art & Sculpture and Sustainable Category Winner: Henry C. Beck Middle School in Cherry Hill, NJ, for its Art/Sculpture project.
• Creative Paper Usage Category Winner: W.A. Meacham Middle School in Fort Worth, TX, for its "Reduce Paper Waste" project.

To learn more about these projects, visit http://www.recyclebank.com/greenschools. Check and paper presentations for each school will occur on location this spring.

"The Recyclebank Green Schools program enables residents to work hand-in-hand with educators to provide environmental instruction and activity that inspire students to become better stewards of the earth and make a real impact in their communities," said Paul Winn, Executive Vice President and General Manager at Recyclebank. "Because we are constantly impressed with the creative and innovative solutions that are born from the program each year, we decided to add four new categories and recognize more schools for their ingenuity and resourcefulness. A special thanks to our partner, Domtar, who took that extra step to bring more student projects to life once again."

This year's grand prize winner was Imagine Hill Academy (formerly Imagine Hill Avenue Environmental School), for its Green Roof project. One of the goals at Imagine Hill is to inspire students to be curious about new ideas. To build upon their environmental mission and instruction, they plan to establish a green roof on the school that is designed to reduce air pollution, lower heating and cooling costs and improve water quality. The structure will incorporate water collection barrels, grassy areas, plots for vegetation and the potential for solar panels in the future. The water from the barrels will be used to nourish the rooftop plants, as well as to clean the school. Students will help in the collection and distribution of the rain barrels and will actively engage in discussions about how and when to use the rain the school collects. Toledo residents were able to support the program by donating Recyclebank points obtained through "My Republic Rewards," the recycling incentive program offered by Republic Services.

"As part of our mission, we want our students to learn how our built environment can support a cleaner planet. Thanks to the generous support of Recyclebank, Domtar and everyone who kindly donated their Recyclebank points, our green roof can begin taking shape immediately," said Zack Kantouros, principal of Imagine Hill Academy. "This project will give our students a unique educational opportunity to enhance our student's curiosity about global warming. We will incorporate the project into the curriculum and inspire creativity by involving the students in developing and maintaining a green roof. We want to empower the students to take this new knowledge with them in the future."

The Recyclebank Green Schools Program is an annual program in which residents donate Recyclebank points to support their local school's environmental projects. The company then transfers the points into real dollars—turning the community's green actions into funds (up to $2,500) for the school.  

In addition to providing a year's supply of paper to Imagine Hill Academy, Domtar awarded $500 to each school that was able to reach 50 percent of its donation goal. Nearly all of the 38 participating schools reached 50 percent of their fundraising goals and will receive funds from Domtar.

"We would like to congratulate Imagine Hill Academy, each of the four category winners and all of the participating schools for their dedication to creating a more sustainable future," said Paige Goff, Vice President of Sustainability and Business Communication at Domtar. "Sustainability is a core value at Domtar and we applaud the imaginative approaches that each community has taken to advance environmental education and instill a green mindset in young people across the country."

ABOUT RECYCLEBANK

For more than 10 years, Recyclebank has been working toward a waste-free future by focusing on the real-world impact of inspiring and motivating individuals. As the first rewards-for-recycling program of its kind, it introduced the principles of a circular economy to a mainstream audience. By partnering with communities and a variety of brands, Recyclebank leverages its Marketing-as-a-Service (MaaS) Platform utilizing data, education and incentives to encourage more than 4 million members to make better purchasing and disposal habits. A certified B Corporation, Recyclebank is headquartered in New York City. For more information, visit www.Recyclebank.com or find us @Recyclebank or facebook.com/Recyclebank.

ABOUT DOMTAR 

Domtar Corporation (NYSE: UFS) (TSX: UFS) designs, manufactures, markets and distributes a wide variety of fiber-based products, including communication papers, specialty and packaging papers, and absorbent hygiene products. The foundation of our business is a network of world-class wood fiber-converting assets that produce papergrade, fluff and specialty pulp. The majority of our pulp production is consumed internally to manufacture paper and consumer products. Domtar is the largest integrated marketer and manufacturer of uncoated freesheet paper in North America with recognized brands such as Cougar®, Lynx® Opaque Ultra, Husky® Opaque Offset, First Choice®, EarthChoice® and Xerox® Paper and Specialty Media. Domtar is also a marketer and producer of a broad line of absorbent hygiene products marketed primarily under the Attends®, IncoPack® and Indasec® brand names. In 2014, Domtar had sales of $5.6 billion from some 50 countries. The Company employs approximately 9,800 people. To learn more, visit www.domtar.com.

MEDIA CONTACTS

Karen Bray | Recyclebank
[email protected]

Anne Steinberg | Kitchen Public Relations for Recyclebank
(212) 687-8999 | [email protected]

SOURCE Recyclebank

Related Links

http://www.recyclebank.com