Program urges phone-book recycling

It's been used for a year to find much-needed phone numbers. Now that the past year's outdated phone book has been replaced by a newer one, there's a solution to getting rid of the older edition.

Recycle it.

Keep Columbia County Beautiful, the county's newly formed beautification program, is sponsoring a telephone book recycling program at two locations, according to Stacie Adkins, Columbia County's special events manager, who also is in charge of Keep Columbia County Beautiful.

"We're hoping we're not too late," Adkins said of the recycling effort. "We had been given a date from BellSouth on when they would be delivering the new phone books and they delivered them earlier."

Adkins hopes the rush to set up recycling bins in the county will not be for naught. The bins are set up at the Evans Government Complex on Ronald Reagan Drive, in front of building A, and at the Columbia County Water and Sewerage Department on Evans to Locks Road. The bins are for telephone books only and will be set up through the end of the month.

"Last year we had four sites, and it was determined that two was plenty," said Adkins, noting that figures for past telephone recycling programs were not available because the program was held under the auspices of the joint Clean and Beautiful program with Richmond County. That program has since dissolved, and Columbia County has formed Keep Columbia County Beautiful.

In addition to the telephone-book recycling program, Adkins said, efforts are under way to build a recycling facility in the county. Those plans, however, are a few years away because there is much to be considered when opening such a facility.

"I think the county has realized that we need to do something," she said. "So, we're working on a countywide recycling effort."

Adkins said people can call her about Keep Columbia County Beautiful and the county's recycling plans at 312-7415.