Indianapolis schools collect 50.5 tons of outdated phone books through AT&T Project ReDirectory

INDIANAPOLIS—(January 3, 2011) Sunnyside Elementary school took first place and $532 in this year’s Project ReDirectory phone book recycling program, a program of Keep Indianapolis Beautiful in partnership with AT&T and Republic Services of Indiana. The school collected 9.09 tons of directories, or 18,180 pounds and 18% of the total phone books collected by the schools.

The eleven schools participating in the program this year shattered last year’s collection efforts. In 2009 four schools collected 28 tons of directories. This year a total of 50.5 tons was collected which equates to 100,900 pounds.

An additional 15.5 tons or 30,990 pounds were collected at drop-off locations such as parks, Republic Services recycling facilities, and an AT&T distribution warehouse. In all nearly 43,000 directories were recycled during the event.

“Congratulations to all the schools, parents, teachers, and everyone in the community that participated in this very important project,” said Tammy Stevens, recycling manager, Keep Indianapolis Beautiful. “The results are truly indicative of our community’s desire to make a difference in our environment.”

AT&T contributed $1,924 to the schools and Republic Waste Services of Indiana donated an additional $250 to the first place winner.

The other ten schools who participated in the contest, their collections, and winnings are:
• Greenbriar Elementary School—8.51 tons; $270
• Irvington Community School—6.86 tons; $237
• Northview Middle School—5.53 tons; $211
• SENSE Charter School—4.40 tons; $188
• Southport High School—3.50 tons; $170
• Herron High School—3.29 tons; $166
• Bunker Hill Elementary—2.71 tons; $100
• Jonathan Jennings Elementary School—2.70 tons; $100
• CHOICE Academy at Decatur High School—1.96 tons; $100
• Abraham Lincoln Elementary School—1.90 tons; $100

Students and teachers truly enjoyed participating in the program. “I am extremely passionate about recycling, so the phone book drive was a lot of fun for me,” said Devonna Miltenberger, sixth grade teacher at Sunnyside Elementary. “I won’t let my students throw away paper in the trash can, and if they do I make them get it out and put it in the recycling bin.”

“Reduce, reuse and recycle isn’t just a phrase, it’s a lifestyle,” said Samantha Mount, sixth grade student at Sunnyside Elementary.

“The challenge was fun for the students and instilled the importance of recycling in the management of our solid waste stream, said John Drier, general manager, Republic Services.” “I congratulate everyone who took part to make this project so successful.”

AT&T Advertising Solutions has promoted environmental sustainability for many years, and feels it’s not just an important part of the job, but critical to the future of the communities it serves.

“We’re very proud of the role AT&T plays in improving the environment,” said Bill Bergsma, AT&T Advertising Solutions area marketing manager. “It’s wonderful to see students, parents, teachers and the community excited about recycling and other sustainability efforts that will benefit us all in the long term.”

Residents and businesses can call AT&T Project ReDirectory at 1-800-953-4400 to learn how to recycle outdated phone books in their communities.

Combined, AT&T’s print and online products receive more than 5 billion consumer searches a year for local business information, and provide nearly 1 million advertisers with valuable sales leads to help their businesses grow. AT&T Advertising Solutions offers a full suite of advertising search products that enables businesses and customers to connect anytime, anywhere. In addition to our print directories, we provide information through YP.com, RealPagesLive.com, YPmobile, Digital Express, ATT411, and more.

For more information on the print directory or YP.com, please call AT&T Advertising Solutions at 1-800-343-7390, or visit online at http://www.adsolutions.att.com.

About Keep Indianapolis Beautiful, Inc.
Keep Indianapolis Beautiful, Inc. is a private, non-profit organization uniting people to build community and transform public spaces through aesthetic and environmental improvement. In 2009, KIB worked with more than 44,000 volunteers on 500 community projects. To learn more about us, please visit www.kibi.org.

About Republic Services, Inc.
Republic Services, Inc. provides recycling and solid waste collection, transfer and disposal services in the United States and Puerto Rico. The Company’s various operating units, including collection companies, transfer stations, recycling centers and landfills, are focused on providing reliable environmental services and solutions for commercial, industrial, municipal and residential customers. For more information, visit the Republic Services website at www.republicservices.com.

About AT&T
AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) is a premier communications holding company. Its subsidiaries and affiliates – AT&T operating companies – are the providers of AT&T services in the United States and around the world. With a powerful array of network resources that includes the nation’s fastest mobile broadband network, AT&T is a leading provider of wireless, Wi-Fi, high speed Internet and voice services. A leader in mobile broadband, AT&T also offers the best wireless coverage worldwide, offering the most wireless phones that work in the most countries. It also offers advanced TV services under the AT&T U-verse® and AT&T │DIRECTV brands. The company’s suite of IP-based business communications services is one of the most advanced in the world. In domestic markets, AT&T Advertising Solutions and AT&T Interactive are known for their leadership in local search and advertising. In 2010, AT&T again ranked among the 50 Most Admired Companies by FORTUNE® magazine. Additional information about AT&T Inc. and the products and services provided by AT&T subsidiaries and affiliates is available at http://www.att.com. This AT&T news release and other announcements are available at http://www.att.com/newsroom and as part of an RSS feed at www.att.com/rss. Or follow our news on Twitter at @ATTNews. Find us on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/ATT to discover more about our consumer and wireless services or at www.Facebook.com/ATTSmallBiz to discover more about our small business services.

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