UPPER MARLBORO, Md., April 23 -- Building on County Executive Jack Johnson's Livable Communities Initiative and its strong recycling record, Prince George's County, Md., launched an innovative campaign with business and nonprofit partners to increase recycling of magazines and catalogs. This partnership, which includes the National Recycling Coalition, Time Inc., International Paper and Recycle America Alliance, will be a model for magazine and catalog recycling in cities across America. Designed to inform residents that magazines and catalogs can easily be included with other paper recycling, the "Recycling Magazines is Excellent" campaign, or "ReMix," will help divert magazines from the landfill and provide an economic benefit for Prince George's County. "The ReMix campaign reflects the goals of my Livable Communities Initiative - citizens and residents taking a vested interest in improving the environmental and economic health of the county by recycling," Johnson said. "It's easy to recycle magazines and catalogs because we already accept both in our curbside recycling program. We are honored that the partnership has selected Prince George's County for this program based on our comprehensive efforts to make recycling part of our everyday life." Johnson encouraged residents who are not already including magazines and catalogs in their paper recycling to begin by simply putting them with their other paper to be recycled. For the ReMix partners, the environmental benefit was a key factor in the decision to sponsor the public awareness program. "As a committed steward of the environment, International Paper partnered with Time Inc. to research current trends in magazine recycling, and we discovered tremendous opportunity to divert used magazines and catalogs from landfills," said Carl Gagliardi, International Paper director of environmental business services. "When a joint study suggested that one out of six magazines sold gets recycled, we partnered with Time Inc. to develop this ReMix campaign to promote the ease and benefits of magazine and catalog recycling." International Paper and Time Inc. joined with the National Recycling Coalition to research major U.S. cities' recycling rates and infrastructures to determine ideal locations for the ReMix program. Prince George's County is one of two locales nationwide selected to participate in the ReMix pilot program. The other is Boston. "Prince George's County is known for its long-term, effective recycling program. It is a great place to pilot the ReMix partnership," said National Recycling Coalition Executive Director Kate Krebs. "According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, about 2 million tons of magazines are produced each year in the United States, but only about 32 percent are recycled," Krebs said. "Our national research shows that Americans support recycling, but they are often uncertain about what can be recycled. That's why it is so important for all of us -- government agencies, leading companies and advocacy organizations -- to work together to educate the public. ReMix is a wonderful example of how the public and private sectors can work hand-in-hand to increase recycling, not only in Prince George's County, but nationwide." The program not only benefits the county, but also is based on the core environmental values of its major sponsors. "Our employees use renewable resources to make products people depend on every day, including the use of recovered paper fiber for the manufacture of a variety of products," Gagliardi said. "International Paper is committed to raising public awareness about the value of recycling all kinds of paper products, and communities benefit when we can partner with a customer like Time Inc. to pursue this common goal." David Refkin, director of sustainable development at Time Inc., said, "We're excited to be part of this effort to promote and increase the recycling of magazines in Prince George's County and the greater Washington metro area. This initiative ties into the primary goals of sustainable development -- economic and environmental sustainability and social responsibility. Prince George's County will save money, and waste will be diverted from the landfill and recycled into new paper products. Additionally, Prince George's County will be playing a leadership role in finding creative methods to increase the benefits of recycling." "Supporting our readers and their communities has been one of our core values since the magazine was founded," said Ed Lewis, publisher of ESSENCE magazine and chairman and CEO of Essence Communications, Inc., a joint venture with Time Inc. "ESSENCE's readers care about their environment. In addition, a growing number of advertisers have been promoting their environmental efforts in our magazines and in other titles. Recycling is just one way to improve the livability of our communities, Lewis said. "ESSENCE is proud to be associated with this partnership to increase the recycling of magazines in Prince George's County." The partnership members developed public service advertisements to encourage curbside recycling of magazines and catalogs. The ads, which will appear in various magazines including TIME and Sports Illustrated, specifically target Prince George's County and other Washington, D.C. metro area residents. This targeting capability is due thanks to Media Networks Inc., a marketer of local advertising in national magazines. Prince George's County will continue to promote public awareness of magazine and catalog recycling through outreach activities to residents. "Recycle America Alliance is pleased to be a partner in this effort," said Steve Ragiel, president of Recycle America Alliance, LLC, a subsidiary of Waste Management, Inc. "As the country's largest recycler, we look forward to being involved in this public-private partnership and view it as another venue for us to raise awareness about the benefits of recycling and environmental stewardship." The partners will measure the recovery of magazines and catalogs throughout the region. The county will work to help residents take advantage of this convenient disposal of used reading material that can be recycled into newspapers or other paper products.