TINLEY PARK, IL - On April 22^nd, 2014, local company, W. H. Leary will lead an event where students and teachers at Southwest Chicago Christian School’s Tinley Park Campus will plant a tree in honor of Earth Day on April 22^nd and Arbor Day on April 29^th.  This is part of the Paperboard Packaging Council’s TICCIT Program (“Trees into Cartons, Cartons into Trees”), an educational program that highlights the biodegradability of paper-based packaging. 

Chris Leary, Director of Sales & Service at W. H. Leary, along with other W. H. Leary employees, will instruct students on the benefits of recycling, describe how paper is made, and explain the many reasons why trees are so important to the environment and all of us. They will also briefly introduce students to the world of packaging and folding cartons.  Each student will plant a Colorado Blue Spruce Sapling inside their milk cartons and will then be encouraged to take the saplings home and plant both the sapling and the carton (which is biodegradable) in their own backyards.

Kevin Leary, CEO / President of W. H. Leary, explained “TICCIT week is part of a larger initiative in the paper converting industry to educate students about the recyclability of paper products and the fact that they are more sustainable in our environment than plastic alternatives. Across the paperboard industry we’re seeing a shift towards increasing sustainability and waste reduction efforts. Educating the community about the importance of choosing paperboard packaged products, because they are a made from a uniquely renewable resource, is just one way companies in the industry are giving back.”