WASHINGTON – If your business, community or school has an outstanding paper recycling program, the American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA) wants to hear from you.

Entries are now being accepted for the 2013 AF&PA Recycling Awards, which recognize businesses, communities, and schools across the country for new and innovative programs that aim to increase the amount of paper recovered for recycling.

A winning school, business and community program will each receive a $2,000 cash prize, a piece of original paper art, and local and national visibility, and runners-up will be featured online.  New this year is a Fan Favorite award in each category, determined by online voting resulting from a social sharing campaign.  Award descriptions, criteria, and entry forms are available at www.paperrecycles.org.  The deadline for entries is Feb. 15, 2013.

In 2011, 66.8 percent of the paper used in the U.S. was recovered for recycling. In fact, nearly three times more paper is recovered for recycling than is sent to landfills.  As part of a comprehensive set of sustainability goals called Better Practices, Better Planet 2020, AF&PA and its members have set a goal to increase the recovery rate to exceed 70 percent over the next eight years. The awards program helps support that goal by recognizing and rewarding outstanding paper recycling programs and facilitating the sharing of best practices nationwide.

2012 AF&PA Recycling Award winners were One American Center – Thomas Properties Group, Austin, Texas, Naval Air Station Whidbey Island, Oak Harbor, Wash., and Perry High School, Perry, Ohio.  Previous years' winners include MGM Resorts International, Hewlett Packard, and Continental Airlines; the cities of Seattle, Wash. and Virginia Beach, Va.; and Purdy High School in Purdy, Mo.

For more information about paper recycling – including statistics, educational materials, interactive features, and guides for starting or improving a paper recycling program in your area – visit www.paperrecycles.org.