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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Nov. 14, 2008

Media Contact: Joanne Veto
(O) 202-268-3118
(C) 202-285-2168
joanne.m.veto@usps.gov

usps.com/news
Release No. 08-120

Earth911.com, U.S. Postal Service Provide Green Holiday Tips

Holiday Internet Channel Launches on America Recycles Day

SCOTTSDALE, AZ— As people across the country prepare to celebrate the 11th annual America Recycles Day on Nov. 15, Earth911.com and the U.S. Postal Service have partnered to share an important message: Don’t take a holiday from recycling.

Waste output can increase as much as 25 percent during the Holidays, so Earth911.com and the Postal Service are presenting the “Green Your Holidays” channel with simple, practical tips to make sure you don’t contribute to that statistic.

The Green Your Holidays channel shows how to reduce, reuse and recycle key products associated with the holidays, including Christmas trees, gift packaging, greeting cards and holiday lights. It also provides the opportunity for consumers to search more than 100,000 locations in the U.S. and Canada that recycle these products, and features guides for making holiday-related activities like parties and shopping more eco-friendly.

The USPS will be contributing valuable content about recycled content packaging, greening your mail and holiday cards, and insights on avoiding lines during the busiest times for the Postal Service.

“Earth911.com is already the trusted solution for finding out where to recycle Christmas trees,” said Earth911.com President Jonathan Smith. “We’re excited to collaborate with the Postal Service and target additional products associated with the holiday season where recycling and sustainability can make a significant impact.”

The USPS and Earth911.com are both committed to spreading the opportunity for recycling solutions. The Postal Service annually recycles over 1 million tons of paper, plastic and other materials, and has over 200 Cradle-to-Cradle certified mailing products. Over 3,800 Post Offices now provide recycling opportunities for P.O. Box customers through the “Read, Respond and Recycle” program, and the USPS offers a mail-in recycling program for small electronics.

In addition to providing the most extensive recycling search engine in the U.S., Earth911.com recycles and composts in its Arizona headquarters. The company has also held multiple electronics recycling events for local businesses to unload obsolete electronics in 2007-8.

“Whether it’s saving fuel this yule by shopping online at usps.com or simple ways to send greener packages, the Postal Service is proud to support Earth911.com in promoting a more environmentally friendly holiday season,” said Sam Pulcrano, Postal Service vice president for Sustainability.

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About the U.S. Postal Service
An independent federal agency, the U.S. Postal Service is the only delivery service that reaches every address in the nation, 146 million homes and businesses, six days a week. It has 37,000 retail locations and relies on the sale of postage, products and services, not tax dollars, to pay for operating expenses. The Postal Service has annual revenue of $75 billion and delivers nearly half the world’s mail.

About Earth911.com
Earth911.com delivers actionable local information on recycling and product stewardship that empowers consumers to act locally, live responsibly and contribute to sustainability. Both the Earth911.com site and 1-800-CLEANUP toll-free hotline are provided at no cost to the user or taxpayer. Earth911.com centralizes information and resources into a single user-friendly, neutral and non-governmental network.