2009 Alabama PALS Governor’s Awards presented to both SCA Tissue Barton Operations and volunteers in Litter Getters
BARTON, Ala., Nov. 4, 2009 -- People Against a Littered State (PALS) has awarded both SCA Tissue Barton Operations and the Litter Getters - a volunteer group of 25 SCA Tissue employees - a 2009 Alabama PALS Governor’s Award.
The company received the 2009 PALS Governor’s Award in the Business and Industry category while the Litter Getters received the award in the Vulcan Volunteer of the Year category. The awards were presented Wednesday, Nov. 4, by the president and vice president of the state PALS chapter in a ceremony attended by representatives of the governor’s office as well as by state legislators, state officials and representatives of the PALS chapters throughout the state.
“We are proud to receive this award as a company and equally pleased that the volunteer efforts of the Litter Getters have been singled out for recognition,” said Marty Ferguson, SCA Tissue Director of Southeast Operations. “Thinking globally and acting locally is a cornerstone of environmental stewardship that is reflected not only in how SCA conducts business but also in the way our employees extend those values out into the community.”
Accepting the award for SCA Tissue were SCA Barton Operations employees Robin Wood, Utilities & Environmental Manager, and Greg Robinson, Environmental Partner. Accepting the award for the Litter Getters were Joseph Rickard and Robert Alsobrooks, co-founders of the Litter Getters and members of the Barton Environmental Awareness Team of SCA Tissue.
“The company won the Governor’s Award in the Business and Industry category based on its recycling efforts through the industry and its promotion of environmental awareness in the community through education and outreach with community groups and schools,” said Danny Allison, President of the Colbert County chapter of PALS and Environmental Health Specialist with the Colbert County Health Department. Specifics cited in the nomination were the company’s use of 100 percent recycled fiber in the making of its Tork® paper products and its sponsorship of local paper drives and other acts of community environmental stewardship, said Alison.
The Litter Getters, a volunteer group formed by SCA Tissue employees in Barton about three years ago, were honored for their adoption and maintenance of Haley Drive, which leads to the mill, as a litter-free zone, the promotion of litter-prevention awareness in the community and its work with other PALS chapters in educational outreach such as Earth Day programs, Allison said.
Alabama PALS is a non-profit organization dedicated to working with Alabama communities to promote a cleaner and healthier state by assisting in providing programs that address litter prevention, cleanup and litter control.
SCA Tissue has nearly 500 employees at its mill and converting plant facilities in Barton.