News for Release: Thursday, March 29, 2007

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Cherry Blossom Peepers Recycle On the Go

Contact: Roxanne Smith, (202) 564-4355 / smith.roxanne@epa.gov

(Washington, D.C. - March 29, 2007) For the second year in a row, families can enjoy spending time with nature and help the environment, too. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the National Park Service are teaming up again to collect recyclables at this year's National Cherry Blossom Festival. Festival attendees will be encouraged to recycle their bottles and cans in recycling bins on the National Mall as part of EPA's Recycle on the Go program.

"Whether you are at a national park or at a ball park, recycling a bottle or can should be easy and convenient," said Susan Bodine, assistant administrator of EPA's Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response. "Organizations like the National Park Service are helping move us from a throw-away society to a recycling society."

This year's efforts at the Cherry Blossom Festival are part of a larger EPA effort to promote on-the-go recycling at public events. EPA and the NPS have made public recycling a regular practice, teaming up to collect recyclables at the 2006 Fourth of July Celebration and the National Black Family Reunion Celebration. Last year's Cherry Blossom Festival recycling efforts collected more than 20,000 bottles and cans and 500 pounds of corrugated cardboard.

EPA also organized Recycle on the Go programs at the 2006 and 2007 NFL Pro Bowl and the 2006 Major League Baseball All-Star Game. These programs left both the community and the environment better off, with proceeds from the Pro Bowl's recycled materials benefiting local youth organizations.

Recycle on the Go is one of a variety of approaches EPA is using to help our nation reach its 35 percent national recycling goal. Recycling saves energy, conserves resources, reduces the need for new landfills and incinerators, and stimulates the development of green technologies. Through Recycle on the Go, EPA seeks to make recycling easy for Americans wherever they are.

About 1 million people are expected to attend this year's National Cherry Blossom Festival, which runs from March 31 to April 15. Recycling stations will be located at the Jefferson Memorial, the north side of the Tidal Basin, and the paddle boat rental facility during each of the festival's three weekends. Festival volunteers, including Susan Bodine, will staff each center to answer basic recycling questions.

Information about Recycle on the Go: http://www.epa.gov/recycleonthego
 

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