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IGNITING RECYCLING

Myrna Gittler of Plainview, N.Y., has won a Ford Escape Hybrid from America Recycles Day Inc.

Gittler’s pledge to recycle more was drawn from more than 100,000 pledges entered in the national drawing during last year’s America Recycles campaign, which is celebrated yearly on Nov. 15.

America Recycles awards prizes such as fuel-efficient cars, bikes composed of recycled content and eco-friendly houses to draw attention to the importance of recycling and of buying recycled-content products.

In 2005, Americans filled out pledge cards at more than 900 America Recycles events nationwide and through the America Recycles Web site that were entered into the grand prize drawing.

Gittler and her husband Harold accepted the keys to their new hybrid SUV during a ceremony at Able Ford in Rockville Centre, N.Y.

The Gittlers have taken their America Recycles Day pledge to heart. Myrna, director of a nearby nursery school, uses recycled materials on a daily basis, from reusing the back side of office paper to arts and crafts projects for the children. Harold, a retired South Bronx social work administrator, used recycled materials for craft projects and to furnish the community facility.

America Recycles also awarded five Trek bicycles made with recycled aluminum frames to young people who completed pledge cards, including Brendan Nelson of Connecticut; Lindsey Martin of Michigan; Melvin Patrick Pearsall of Florida; Julianna Foglio of California; and Mary Ellen Bennett of South Carolina.

America Recycles Day Inc. is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization that sponsors the annual America Recycles campaign, culminating in an America Recycles celebration on Nov. 15 of each year.

America Recycles is sponsored by Novelis, Staples Inc., American Beverage Association and Waste Management Recycle America. The organization is managed by the National Recycling Coalition, Washington, D.C. More information on America Recycles Day is available online at www.americarecyclesday.org.