Baton Rouge Wins 2007 Outstanding Public Education Award from National Recycling Coalition
GBB Assisted with Strategic Planning and Implementation of State-of-the-Art Recycling Program

Susan Hamilton, Director of Recycling for East Baton Rouge Parish, with Harvey Gershman, GBB President.

(Fairfax, VA – September 25, 2007) – The National Recycling Coalition (NRC) recently presented the Beth Brown Boettner Award for Outstanding Public Education to the East Baton Rouge Recycling Office. The prestigious award was presented to Susan Hamilton, Director of Recycling for East Baton Rouge Parish, during NRC’s 26th Annual Congress & Expo, in Denver, CO. Each year, to recognize the best in recycling, the NRC presents awards to outstanding organizations and individuals in a number of categories. Winners are selected by a committee of NRC members. The Beth Brown Boettner award, honoring a recycling program that shows innovation and leadership in public education, is named for an Austin, TX city employee who developed one of the first major city recycling programs in the nation. Gershman, Brickner & Bratton, Inc. (GBB) is proud to be associated with Baton Rouge, having assisted the city with strategic planning and program implementation since 2004.

“Congratulations to the East Baton Rouge Recycling Office!” said Harvey Gershman, GBB President. “We have been fortunate to work closely with them over the past few years and are proud to be associated with this success story. From the get-go, Baton Rouge was dedicated to making things happen, increasing recycling, and lowering costs. They put in the necessary resources and efforts and turned their operation into a model other communities look up to.”

In July 2006, after several years of strategic planning and the subsequent procurement process for new comprehensive waste and recycling collection and processing services, the City of Baton Rouge / Parish of East Baton Rouge started implementing those services, including a new single-stream recycling program, with the goal of providing greater convenience to residents, collecting larger volumes of recyclable materials, and reducing solid waste management costs. As of August 2007 with 51,000 carts delivered, tonnage collected curbside has increased by over 30%.

“We attribute our success to in-depth strategic planning, effective networking with local leaders, and a creative grass-roots public outreach effort,” noted Susan Hamilton. “The new single-stream recycling program has saved landfill space as well as dollars: our new rate of $1.52/household/month saves over $1.00/hh/month compared to our former rate. GBB was instrumental in stepping Baton Rouge through strategic planning and contract, and without their expertise, we would not have the progressive program we have today.”

The NRC is a national non-profit organization of recycling professionals and advocates from every region of the country, in every sector of the waste reduction field. Local recycling coordinators, state and federal regulators, corporate environmental managers, environmental educators and advocates, and waste management professionals are all members of NRC. Founded in 1978, NRC’s objective is to eliminate waste and promote sustainable economies through advancing sound management practices for raw materials in North America.

The City of Baton Rouge / Parish of East Baton Rouge, located in the southeastern part of Louisiana along the Mississippi River, is the second largest city in the state and its capital. The City/Parish provides a broad array of solid waste management services to over 120,000 residences spanning 472 square miles.

GBB is a national solid waste management consulting firm founded in 1980 that works on solid waste collection, processing, recycling and disposal issues, and assists in planning, procuring, and implementing sound, cost-effective facilities and services at the local, state and national levels for both the public and private sectors. For more information on the firm and its products and services, visit www.gbbinc.com or call 1-800-573-5801.

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