Chad Pregracke, an Illinois man who has dedicated his life to cleaning the Mississippi River and other U.S. waterways, was named the 2013 CNN Hero of the Year.

 

Pregracke organizes community cleanups across the country through his nonprofit, Living Lands & Waters. About 70,000 volunteers have pitched in, helping Pregracke collect more than 7 million pounds of trash in the past 15 years.

 

"The garbage got into the water one piece at a time," Pregracke said earlier this year. "And that's the only way it's going to come out."
 

Pregracke was recognized along with the rest of this year's top 10 CNN Heroes -- everyday people doing extraordinary things to help change the world. He was chosen as Hero of the Year through a five-week public vote on CNN.com.

 

"I'll just keep on cleaning up America's rivers and loving every minute of it," said Pregracke as he accepted the award.
 

For being named CNN Hero of the Year, Pregracke receives $250,000 to continue his work. That is in addition to the $50,000 that each Hero receives for making the top 10.

 

At the award ceremony, Pregracke pledged to spread some of his Hero of the Year money to the rest of the top 10 Heroes: "I've met so many great people today, the other Heroes, and I'm really moved by all their stories and all the things they do around the world.  I'm going to give 10 grand to each of them, because they're awesome."

 

Pregracke, 38, grew up in East Moline, Illinois, where the Mississippi River was in his backyard. As a teenager, he worked as a commercial shell diver and began to notice the heaps of debris in the fabled waterway, which supplies drinking water to 18 million people in more than 50 U.S. cities.
 

"I saw thousands of barrels, thousands of tires, cars, trucks and tops of school buses. ... I got sick of seeing it and just wanted to do something about it," said Pregracke, whom some have called "the rivers' garbageman."
 

For nine months out of the year, Pregracke lives on a barge with members of his 12-person crew. They go around the country with a fleet of boats, and they try to make cleanup fun for the volunteers who show up in each city.

 

Through his nonprofit, Chad Pregracke has removed more than 7 million pounds of trash from U.S. waterways.

 

They use skits, music and mock motivational speeches to get the volunteers amped up, and sometimes they even do a little karaoke. Teams also compete to see who can find the "best" garbage.

 

"We do everything in our power to get people excited about it," Pregracke said. "We want people to leave feeling good about what they did so they'll come back."

 

Close to 90% of what they recover is recycled; Pregracke said the rest gets disposed of properly.

 

In addition to the river cleanup, Pregracke has launched a floating classroom barge where his staff educates high school students and teachers about the damages of pollution on river ecosystems. In 2007, his nonprofit implemented a program to plant 1 million trees along river shorelines to protect and restore the natural environment. The group is halfway to its goal.

 

Pregracke says his nonprofit has already held more than 700 cleanups on 23 rivers, but he says he's just getting started. He views his work as a different kind of service to the country.

 

"A lot of people call me a conservationist or an environmentalist, but the thing is I'm no different than anybody else," he said. "I just want to be known (as) a hardworking American."
 

Read the Full Article and View the Rest of the Top 10 at CNN

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By Staff Writer

The Tennessee Recycling Coalition worked with several agencies and organizations to provide SWANA’s Recycling Systems Certification class to nineteen TRC members from across the state.  These students spent three days in lectures at Henry Horton State Park delving deep into the “mysteries” of effective recycling.  At the end of the week, they visited Marshall County’s single stream materials recovery facility or MRF and saw these principles in action.  Each student on Thursday of the week took a comprehensive exam on recycling systems.  They must score at least 70 points to receive the certification.  
 

Our very own Morgan Thomas of Marshall County suggested the event and as a certified SWANA trainer took the lead in teaching the course.  The Tennessee Department of Transportation Litter Grant Office approved the use of Litter Grant Funds for their recipients to attend and learn more about recycling operations as recycling is a program priority for keeping litter off the streets.  Without their assistance, many would not have been able to attend this great training opportunity.  We would also like to thank the Tennessee Volunteer Chapter of SWANA for providing meals for the class on Tuesday, the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation for setting up the location, breaks, and assisting in the teaching course work.  In addition, a big shout out to Marshall County Solid Waste for the tour and awesome lasagna lunch on Wednesday afternoon.
 

The students worked very hard to learn about subjects like planning recycling programs, recycling markets, processing recyclables, education and outreach, funding, safety, contract management, and many more.  Students represented many diverse recycling backgrounds from county solid waste directors and litter grant contacts to state program managers.  Small rural counties and large urban counties were all well represented.  Even those who already had the certification benefited by receiving thirty hours of continuous education units (CEU’s) towards several different certification programs.  
 

In a few short weeks, we hope to have nineteen new Recycling Systems certified members applying the knowledge gained from this SWANA certification.  This event demonstrates what can happen when organizations and agencies like TN SWANA, TDOT, TDEC, and TRC work together to increase recycling!

Chattanooga area students are doing their part to be environmentally friendly as three local schools were recognized for their recycling programs.  Hixson Middle School in Hixson and East Side Elementary School in Chattanooga were rewarded for their environmental efforts, and each won $1,000 through the Good Sports Always RecycleTM  (GSAR) program for having one of the top 10 school recycling programs in the state of Tennessee.  Additionally, Ivy Academy in Soddy Daisy was recognized as the Good Sports Always Recycle Sustainability Steward, and the school received $1,500 for its efforts.  
 

Read the Full Article

 

TRC is accepting awards applications for all awards categories. A panel of judges will select a winner in each category.     

For more information, full awards criteria, and submission information, please visit TRC Awards.

This issue of “Meet the TRC Board” lets us meet board member, Amelia Mayahi.  Amelia is the Sustainability Coordinator for the University of Memphis. 
 

In following our tradition, we ask a couple questions of our board members to give you special insight into who they are and what their thoughts relative to recycling.

 

TRC:  Tell us a little about your family and personal life:

Amelia:  I grew up in the small town of Dresden, TN. My hometown is largely an agricultural based community, so environmental responsibility was always a part of life for us. My family was always active in both the church and the community, so the importance of having a volunteer spirit was something my family encouraged. Both of my parents have worked and still work at the University of Tennessee at Martin since I was born. I always say that I was born in the higher educational system, even went to UTM daycare, and I was always meant to work within the higher educational system. At 15 years of age, I naturally started my first job working for my father at UTM. He was a big inspiration for my career in sustainability, although I did not see it right away. My father founded the recycle program at UTM and has drawn in the surrounding community through recycling initiatives. His passion and success drove me to find my own path into sustainability, eventually leading me to my career at the University of Memphis as the Sustainability Coordinator. It now has become a joke about a secret sustainability or recycling competition between me and my father now, but in reality we are both on the same team. Our dream is to help West TN in sustainable development, particularly in recycling. I truly credit my family and hometown for providing me with the leadership skills and the environmental consciousness that has led me to reach my career goals thus far.

 

TRC:  Why did you choose your profession?

Amelia: In a way, my profession chose me. I have a B.A. in International Relations and an M.A. in History. I always loved sustainability, but at the time, jobs in that area were not too plentiful and sustainability was still very new to our area. Halfway through my Masters Degree the opportunity arose for the Sustainability Coordinator at the U of M and I went for it. It wasn’t until after I got the position that I realize how big sustainability can and will be. It was not long until my job responsibilities moved from just starting a recycling program to including initiatives for energy efficiency, alternative transportation, sustainability in the curriculum, and in facilities operations. I love going to work each day and know that I am making a different and not just punching in a time clock. I feel extremely lucky to have had this opportunity to be a part of something so beneficial to our present and future well being.  

 

TRC:  What were your previous two jobs? Did either job lead you to your current profession?

Amelia:  My previous jobs were working as a Senator/Executive Officer for the Student Government Association at UTM and as a student worker for the Physical Plant at UTM in Building Services. I would say both had a great deal in preparing me for my current profession, especially with all positions being within a university setting. Both previous positions gave me knowledge of how a university system works but each in a different way. SGA allowed me to experience the policy side, which is fundamental in my currently position as policy changes are part and partial to making sustainability the foundation of our university. Working for the physical plant at UTM gave me experience in the actual ground operations it takes to run a large campus. I am more knowledgeable about what changes in operations are practical and have a better understanding about buildings function. I could not help make these buildings, in my current position, more efficient if I did not understand how they are used on a daily basis.

 

TRC:  Are you for or against the Bottle Bill? Why?

Amelia: I am for the Bottle Bill. Having personally seen the effects of litter and how much beverage containers makeup litter, I see this as a great way to reduce the litter problem in our area. You will not throw away money, so as long as we can provide value in these items, we can put a dent in the litter problem in our region and state. Our campus holds monthly cleanups of McKellar Lake in Memphis. This lake is notorious for collecting litter from storm drains across Memphis. So far we have collected close to 50,000 lbs. out of this one lake. It is great that we clean this lake so often, but that is not going to SOLVE the issue. I see this as a step in the right direction for solving one of my biggest pet peeves.

 

TRC:  What is your vision for waste reduction and recycling in Tennessee?

Amelia:  I would love to see an increase in recycling producers and end users all over TN. I come from a small town in Northwest TN where there is not a recycling facility within 1 hour driving distance. UTM now provides a drop off facility, but there are so many small towns like mine that do not have recycling capabilities close to them. Municipalities have often made the argument that funding a recycling program is costly, but we now know that not funding a recycle program to even more costly. The return on having a recycling program is well worth the first investment and more. I would like to help municipalities see and understand this and give plans on how to build a recycling collection program to benefit their community. So many public schools are hurting for funds to have recycling bins and services. I would like for schools to be able to use money made from their own recycling efforts to help fund recycling bins and services and even more. The image to the students will be that there is value in what many call trash and in the end have our future generations looking at trash in a different light. I would also like to see more manufacturers in TN enforcing recycling initiatives in the work place and fit ways to use recycled material in their products. And finally, I would like to see all these tiers of recyclers more involved with one another and aware of one another. Networking is very important and the more we network, the better we can improve ourselves.

TRC:  What is one crazy or off the wall, non-recycling thing you would like to share about yourself?
Carol: One thing about me that many don’t expect from a small-town girl is that I am an avid world traveler. I only have two continents left to visit before I will have visited them all. I enjoy living and immersing myself in other cultures and feel it can only make me a better, well-rounded individual.