Bartlesville Public Schools are very excited about a new community-wide paper recycling program. Green and yellow bins are available at each of our school sites around the district, including Limestone Plant Services and the Education Service Center . The ABITIBI recycling program has been recycling paper from schools, churches and businesses around Oklahoma City and Tulsa for several years. Recently, they extended their program area to Bartlesville . Since December, our students and staff have been recycling used papers, junk mail, old newspapers, catalogs and magazines every day.

There are many reasons to recycle, first and foremost, to protect our nation's resources. The Department of Environmental Quality estimates that more than 40 percent of the refuse Americans throw away could be recycled. Not only will the recycled paper products save space in landfills, recycling is cost efficient--it requires half the energy to process recycled paper as it does to use a new tree to make paper products.

In addition, this particular paper recycling program at BPS offers a direct benefit to our community as the paper products are shipped by railcar to a paper processing plant in Snowflake, Arizona. There paper is processed into newspaper that is used for both the Tulsa World and Examiner-Enterprise newspapers.

While all of these are worthy benefits of the paper recycling program, there is one more benefit—to our students. Each Bartlesville Public School site receives a monthly rebate from ABITIBI recycling program based on the weight of paper they recycle each month. These funds go directly back to the schools to be used at the principal's discretion.

I wish to thank the city of Bartlesville who has donated nearly 300 blue recycle bins to support our new recycling program. In the true spirit of recycling, the city has given BPS the bins that were previously used in the city-wide program discontinued a few years ago. Their generous donation has made it possible for many of our teachers to have a blue recycle bin in their classroom; this has made the program easier for both students and teachers to implement. This donation has also assisted BPS by not requiring any funding on our part.

In addition, as the result of a grant written by Christina Hoskin, Supervisor of Community Relations, Bartlesville Public Schools recently won a 2004 Weyerhauser Company Foundation's Excellence in Recycling Award in Oklahoma . Ten $1,000 grants were given to districts around Oklahoma . These funds will enhance our start up program. Principals will purchase additional bins, small carts for students to transport recycled paper outside to the bins and other additional materials to enhance their site's program.

During February and March, Bartlesville Public Schools are in a competition with other school districts in Tulsa and Oklahoma City . The school with the heaviest weight of paper recycled will earn large cash prizes. I invite you to support our schools in this competition and throughout the year with the paper recycling program.

The recycling program offered at BPS recycles all type of paper products: mail, shredded paper (bagged), magazines, newspapers, shopping catalogs, colored paper. To recycle metals, cardboard, glass or plastic, I encourage you to support the ARC recycling program that is located on 501 SW Virginia .

As Bartlesville Public School employees and students work with our community members, we can make a difference in preserving our nation's resources. Together, we are “Striving for Excellence.”