By
February 1, 2010

The United States Conference of Mayors, Novelis Inc. and Keep America Beautiful, Inc. (KAB) announced the winners in the sixth annual Cans for Cash: City Recycling Challenge at the Conference of Mayors 78th Winter Meeting. The "Challenge" is a city competition of creativity and execution, offering monetary awards to the cities that conduct the most innovative campaigns and collect the most aluminum cans. During October 2009, more than 40 cities collected over 125 million used beverage cans.

"The United States Conference of Mayors applauds all the participants of the 2009 Cans for Cash City Recycling Program," said Conference of Mayors CEO and Executive Director Tom Cochran. "These cities had an opportunity to bring the benefits of recycling to the forefront of their communities, demonstrating that recycling does begin with ‘I Can.' Congratulations to the winning cities. Their commitment to environmental stewardship is unmatched. Once again, they are leading the way towards a greener and more sustainable tomorrow."

"Novelis is committed to increasing the recycling rate for used aluminum beverage containers in the U.S. from 54 percent today to 75 percent by 2015," said Jean-Marc Germain, President of Novelis North America. "Each year, Americans still discard over 50 billion aluminum cans which end up in landfills. Through campaigns such as this, awareness of the importance of recycling is increased and the message is spread that every can recovered is turned back into a new beverage can — saving energy, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and decreasing the use of natural resources."

The winners of the $5,000 awards for the most aluminum cans recycled are:

• First Place: Milwaukee (WI) Mayor Tom Barrett

• Second Place: Mobile (AL) Mayor Sam Jones

• Third Place: Fontana (CA) Mayor Mark Nuami

• Fourth Place: Bowling Green (KY) Mayor Elaine Walker

To spur innovation and creativity in local initiatives, a $5,000 prize rewarded originality in public education and awareness campaigns. Winners used the funds to further their recycling efforts. The top three cities recognized for the Most Innovative Ideas in 2009 are:

• First Place: Irvine (CA) Mayor Sukhee Kang

• Second Place: Canfield (OH) Mayor Bill Kay

• Third Place: Wellington (FL) Mayor Darell Bowen

Additionally, the Challenge rewarded creative partnerships between cities and local affiliates of Keep America Beautiful, a national nonprofit focused on litter prevention, waste reduction and beautification. The campaign awards the winning city $5,000 and the local KAB affiliate $2,500.

• First Place: Montgomery (AL) Mayor Todd Strange/Montgomery Clean City Commission

• Second Place: LaGrange (GA) Mayor Jeff Lukken/Keep Troup Beautiful

• Third Place: Angleton (TX) Mayor Patrick Henry/Keep Angleton Beautiful

• Fourth Place: Newport News (VA) Mayor Joe Frank/Newport News Public Works Recycling

In November 2009, Cincinnati and Mayor Mark Mallory were announced as the winners of The American Recycler Video Award, a fun, new component of the national challenge. The winning short, web-based film promoting aluminum can recycling will be featured in the upcoming 2010 Cans for Cash National Recycling Campaign.

Conference of Mayors President Burnsville (MN) Mayor Elizabeth B. Kautz handed out the awards during the January 22 Plenary session. "Aluminum Can recycling is an easy and economical way for cities to go green. Congratulations to all the winners for their efforts and commitment to a greener tomorrow," said Kautz.

For a complete list of cities that participated in the 2009 Cans for Cash program and to view the "Recycling Starts with I Can" video, visit the website www.cans4cash.com.