PRESS RELEASES - SEPTEMBER 2007

September 26, 2007

Composting Awards Bring Recognition to City of Arlington & UT-Arlington

When the City of Arlington and UT-Arlington were presented with the North Texas Corporate Recycling Association award earlier this month at Dallas City Hall, it was the third honor for their joint compost project. The partnership has already earned honors from the Recycling Alliance of Texas Leadership and the Greater DFW Recycling Alliance.

“We were excited about the project from the beginning, but had no idea it would get this much attention,” said City of Arlington Recycling Coordinator Lorrie Anderle.

UT-Arlington’s Environmental Health and Safety Director Craig Powell said cities and universities recognize that “going green” makes good business sense.

“It saves time, it saves money, and it demonstrates to our customers that it’s important to be good stewards of the environment,” Powell said.

In 2006, the 450-acre university partnered with the City of Arlington to expand its campus composting operations. A large portion of the university’s waste comes from landscape debris and leaves, Powell said.

In March 2006, the City of Arlington was awarded a $135,000 grant from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality and the North Central Texas Council of Governments to purchase an in-vessel compost digester to improve efficiency and expansion of UTA’s composting programs. The result was 15 tons of campus waste being diverted from the landfill in the first few months of operation. All compost is recycled back into campus landscaping and recreational fields.

For information about Arlington’s citywide Recycling program, visit the City of Arlington website at www.arlingtontx.gov or contact Recycling Coordinator Lorrie Anderle at 817-459-6778 or Lorrie.Anderle@arlingtontx.gov.

Excellent video and photo opportunities: Call the UTA Recycling Program at 817-272-2185.