MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2015 Regular Session
To: Rules
By: Senator(s) Jordan, Jackson (11th), Butler (38th), Chassaniol, Fillingane, Jackson (32nd), Norwood, Simmons (12th)
A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION CONGRATULATING THE GREENWOOD LEFLORE RECYCLING CENTER FOR BEING AWARDED THE 2014 ENVIRONMENTAL HERO AWARD BY THE MISSISSIPPI RECYCLING COALITION (MRC).
WHEREAS, the Mississippi Recycling Coalition (MRC) has announced the recipients of the 2014 Environmental Hero Awards honoring outstanding recycling programs and organizations in the state. Each year, MRC seeks nominations of organizations, businesses, agencies, schools, and local governments from around the State of Mississippi that have excelled in their recycling and environmental program efforts. The nominees are evaluated based on a number of criteria, including the success of the recycling services/programs offered, the promotional and outreach efforts for recycling within the organization and/or the community served, the organization's overall practices and efforts to improve environmental stewardship, the manner in which the recycling program has helped to improve a community or organization's waste handling systems and the sustainability of the organization's recycling practices and services; and
WHEREAS, the Greenwood Leflore Recycling Program is the recipient of the Recycler of the Year Award for Local Governments in the State of Mississippi. Greenwood Leflore Recycling officially launched its recycling program on March 1, 2011, through a joint effort led by the City of Greenwood in cooperation with Leflore County. The program is a past recipient of MRC's New Program of the Year Award for 2011 recognizing its bold start to recycling services and is now being recognized as the local government program of the year for its progressive implementation and continued promotion and growth of these local recycling programs and services; and
WHEREAS, the program has established four recycling drop-off centers in Greenwood that are accessible to residents, 24-hours a day. Currently, the city's programs collect a variety of materials including No. 1 and No. 2 plastic containers, cardboard, paper, metals and aluminum. The program has also worked to actively engage the business community in the recycling program with more than 100 businesses in the Greenwood—Leflore area actively participating in the program; and
WHEREAS, in addition to the collection systems, the City of Greenwood also has developed its own material recovery facility in a vacant industrial facility where the collected recyclables are sorted, baled and marketed for manufacturing uses. In addition, the Greenwood Leflore Recycling is rolling out a new residential curbside recycling program this April in the City of Greenwood through a grant award received by the city from the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality. The program will also use portions of the grant funds to establish cooperative recycling efforts with other communities in the region to increase recyclable material flow to the Greenwood material recovery facility; and
WHEREAS, the program also conducts ongoing outreach efforts to its citizens on why, how and where to recycle, touting the funds that the city saves by avoiding landfill disposal costs, and by selling the materials as feedstock for manufacturing that would otherwise be landfilled; and
WHEREAS, recycling helps earn money for the community. The City of Greenwood pays $32.00 a ton to bury garbage at the landfill. Most of that can be recycled and sold for $80.00 to $1,500.00 per ton. Recycling products rather than manufacturing them from raw materials drastically reduces pollution of air, soil, and water. Recycling cardboard can drastically reduce a business dumpster rate by lowering the number of times per week the dumpster is emptied. Currently more than 100 Greenwood businesses recycle cardboard, paper and bottles; and
WHEREAS, for these efforts to promote and increase recycling within its jurisdiction and region, the Greenwood Leflore Recycling Program is the recipient of the 2014 Local Government Recycler of the Year Award for the State of Mississippi; and it is with great pride that we recognize this city-county effort which is an excellent partnership model for efficiency in the State of Mississippi:
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES CONCURRING THEREIN, That we do hereby congratulate the Greenwood Leflore Recycling Center for being awarded the 2014 Environmental Hero Award by the Mississippi Recycling Coalition (MRC).
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That this resolution be presented to Anne Marie Kornelis, Director of the Greenwood Leflore Recycling Center; forwarded to the Mayor of Greenwood, the Board of Supervisors of Leflore County and the Executive Director of Mississippi Department of Environment Quality; and made available to the Capitol Press Corps.