There are a number of locations in central Virginia that will accept Christmas trees from area residents. Please be sure to remove all tinsel, bulbs, wire and bolts from the tree before taking it to a disposal center. Most facilities will be recycling the trees into mulch.

Fifteen local recyclers won prizes from the Central Virginia Waste Management Authority and the Virginia Recycling Association in celebration of the America Recycles 2005 contest, a national awareness campaign that generates excitement about recycling. This year CVWMA honored America Recycles with a tour of a recycling facility, a festival at the Children's Museum of Richmond, and two electronics collections.

As a part of the campaign people are encouraged to pledge their commitment to recycle and buy more recycled products in the upcoming year. In return for their support, they can win environmentally friendly prizes made out of recycled items.

Congratulations to these local winners:

Youth Prize Winners

Jeremy Tadlock

- Earth Wagon (Radio Flyer style wagon made out of recycled plastic)
Jeremy Tadlock of Chesterfield

- Harry Potter book (printed on recycled paper) and a Back Pack (made out of recycled tires)
Chaz Martin of Hopewell

- Recycled Products Prize Pack (Mittens, Frisbee, Slinky, Piggy Bank)

Joe Spivey of Chesterfield

- Recycled Crayons with Notepad
Michael Reedy of Chesterfield and Chloe Brown of Chesterfield

- Slinky made out of recycled steel

Christopher Endries of Chesterfield, Sydney Kiker of Henrico and Zachary Suggs of Chesterfield

Joe Spivey

Adult Prize Winners

Most people are surprised to find out that fleece material (used for jackets, mittens, etc) can be made from recycled plastic soda bottles. Some t-shirts also contain fibers spun from recycled plastic.

This is not a new concept – polyester, a material introduced in 1956 but most notable for leisure suits made popular in the 1970s, is the same material used to make plastic soda bottles. Polyester’s official name is polyethylene terephthalate, or PET (which you may have noticed on the bottom of soda bottles marked with the number 1).

Now, one company is helping customers recycle these apparel items. Through it’s “Common Threads” recycling program, outdoor apparel company Patagonia, Inc is asking customers to return worn-out clothing so that it can be made into new garments.

Since September 2005, specific Patagonia products can be mailed or taken to any of the firm’s 20 retail stores. Patagonia will then ship the apparel to the Teijin Group, a fabric manufacturer in Japan which will make new polyester fiber for more Patagonia clothing.

According to Patagonia, energy use could be cut about 75 percent along with carbon dioxide emissions by recycling compared with what it takes to make clothing from virgin materials. For more information, visit http://www.patagonia.com/recycle/index.shtml.