Raising Funds And Keeping The Environment Clean (NAPSA)—With education budgets stretched to the limit, there is now an easy way for schools to iy raise money while helping the environment at the same time. Almost 400 million printer car- tridges are thrown in the trash every year, with the expectation that each cartridge will take 1,000 years to decompose. Recycling ink and toner cartridges is an important way for people to help protect the planet. To that end, a major office supply chain, along with Animal Planet’s Jeff Corwin, has launched a nationwide cartridge recycling competition. The contest challenges students to form teams and collect empty ink and toner cartridges. Teams will receive $3 for each eligible cartridge recycled and the team that recycles the most empty cartridges wins $25,000. The Staples $25,000 Cartridge Chase was created through Staples Recycle for Education, a nationwide in-school cartridge recycling program in which the company donates money for each eligible cartridge recycled. The companyrecently tripled its donation for recycled cartridges. This will make it easy for schools to raise thousandsof dollars through recycling even after the competition has ended. “We all have an important role to play in protecting our environment,” says Corwin, the host of “Corwin’s Quest” and an individual known for his commit- ment to animals and the environ- Schools can recycle ink and toner cartridges to raise funds and help protectthe planet. menttheylive in. “I applaud Staples for offering an easy way to help the environment and our schools through its Recycle for Education program.” Teachers can log on to www. staplesrecyclefored.com to register their team and get a welcomekit, including flyers to announce the competition. There’s prepaid postage for shipping the cartridges and an account number so teams can monitor the status of reimbursement checks andtotal collection counts. Staples’ environmental commitment extends to the procurement and promotion of recycled content products, chainwide recycling initiatives, energy conserva- tion initiatives and renewable power procurement and education initiatives for customers and associates. More information is at www. staplesrecyclefored.com.
