DAYTON, Ohio, April 22, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Earth Day marks the fifth anniversary of The Berry Company's annual Think Yellow, Go Green environmental awareness program that encourages communities across the U.S. to recycle their outdated telephone directories. Through the Think Yellow, Go Green initiative, residents of Lincoln, Anchorage, Oahu and the neighbor islands of Hawaii, have collected more than 750 tons of outdated directories to date, keeping over 1.5 million books out of landfills.
Over the past five years, Berry has teamed up with an array of local organizations, including schools, food banks, The Boy Scouts, shopping malls, grocery stores, environmental organizations, recyclers and community parks and events, to bring the environmental program to life and build awareness in each of the four communities.
"Earth Day is an ideal time to recognize and thank the communities in Lincoln, Anchorage, Oahu and the neighbor islands of Hawaii, which have made the Think Yellow, Go Green program so successful," said Laura Cole, senior director, Marketing for Berry. "Our goal has always been to keep recyclable materials out of landfills and put them back into the communities that we serve."
In Lincoln, Berry partnered with Cornhusker Council Boy Scouts, Lincoln Parks and Recreation, Recycling Enterprises of Nebraska, Inc., and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln to encourage residents to recycle their outdated telephone directories. In Oahu, Berry teamed up with the Lokahi Giving Project, West Oahu Aggregate and several area shopping malls and collected more than 85 tons of outdated phone books this year. Berry partnered with local schools on the neighbor islands of Hawaii, Kauai, Lanai, Maui and Molokai, which compete to collect the most outdated directories, as well as local food banks on the islands to host a community food drive. In Anchorage, Berry, along with Alaskans for Litter Prevention and Recycling (ALPAR), and Alaska Waste, teamed up to encourage residents to recycle their outdated directories at select Carrs store locations and at the Anchorage Summer Solstice Festival.
"Seven hundred and fifty tons of outdated telephone directories – that's equivalent to the weight of six Blue Whales! We have been blown away by the outstanding support of these communities over the past five years and truly believe we are making an environmental impact," said Cole.
The recycled materials have been converted for an array of uses from refuse-derived fuel, generating megawatts of energy for electric companies, to materials such as home insulation and mulch.
The 2013 Think Yellow, Go Green programs in Lincoln and the neighbor islands of Hawaii are running now through May 2 and May 17 respectively. The Think Yellow, Go Green program in Anchorage kicks off at the Summer Solstice Festival on June 22. For more information about these recycling programs, including a list of drop-off locations, visit ThinkYellowGoGreen.com.
ABOUT THE BERRY COMPANY: The Berry Company, LLC, is a leading provider of local online, search, video and print solutions. Its local leads experts help over 150,000 businesses in 41 states market their businesses to local consumers. As an authorized reseller of YP.com™ in all of its markets, The Berry Company provides its clients with online listings and video advertising through this leading national Internet Yellow Pages site. The company is a Google™ Qualified Company, offering Google AdWords and other solutions to its clients.
Since its founding more than 100 years ago, The Berry Company has offered exceptional service, local market expertise and a strong portfolio of solutions. For more information, please visit http://www.TheBerryCompany.com.
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