Contact: Margie Byers, Lee County Solid Waste Division

(941) 479-8181

THIRTEEN PEOPLE HAVE WON $500 IN THE MISSION RECYCLE CHALLENGE

FORT MYERS, Fla. (April 7, 2000) – The list of Mission Recycle winners continues to grow as each month more and more households are recognized for recycling right. The latest Mission Recycle Challenge winners chosen by the Lee County Division of Solid Waste are Sharon Gilmour and Paul Reilly from Pine Island. They will each receive $500 for paying attention to their recycling efforts.

Thirteen (13) winners have been selected to date. To qualify to win, residents in unincorporated Lee County and Cape Coral should place only proper items into their recycling bins. The items should be rinsed, lids removed and the paper items, including magazines, should be placed in a brown paper bag next to the bin. Corrugated cardboard can now be recycled as well! Corrugated cardboard should be flattened and placed under the recycling bin.

Lee County has third highest recycling rate in the state. Overall, 37 percent of Lee County’s waste stream was recycled in 1998. Lee County has a 70 percent participation rate, meaning 70 percent of the single-family households in Lee County put recycling bins out at the curb regularly during the year.

“The Mission Recycle Challenge continues to increase awareness and recycling excitement, generating more than 650 calls for recycling bins in the month of January and reducing the trash and non-recyclable residue that comes in with the recyclables,” says Collin Davis, Recycling Coordinator for the Lee County Solid Waste Division.

For more information on the Mission Recycle Challenge call 479-8181.