DIRECTORY RECYCLING DRIVE TO START NEXT WEEK

Southwestern Bell Yellow Pages and Southwestern Bell Telephone Co. have recycled almost 5 million telephone directories since initiating "Project ReDirectory" five years ago.

The recycling of five million directories translates into more than 9,701 tons of paper collected, saving more than 150,000 trees and more than 30,000 cubic yards of landfill space.

"Our approach on Project ReDirectory is twofold, to save thousands of trees annually and reduce the overuse of our nation's landfills," said Craig Felzien, area manager of external affairs for Southwestern Bell.

Although the recycling program was started in 1989 in the Tulsa, Okla., area, this marks only the third year for the Cape Girardeau and Jackson areas.

The goal is to collect 25,000 directories locally.

These 25,000 directories, stacked flat, would measure more than 1,000 feet high.

That is more than three football fields stretched end to end, or more than the height of the Statue of Liberty placed atop the St. Louis Gateway Arch. The Arch is 630 feet high and the Statue of Liberty is 305 feet high.

That also translates into 10 tons of directories, about 18 trees saved, and about 35 cubic yards of landfill space saved.

During the first year of the campaign, in 1992, a total of 21,300 directories were collected.

A year later, in 1993, about 25,000 directories were collected.

More than 55,000 books will be distributed in the Cape Girardeau area, which includes Jackson, Scott City, Illmo, Kelso, Commerce, New Wells, Pocahontas, Oak Ridge, Altenburg, Farrar and Frohna.

Delivery of the new directories and the recycling of old directories, will start Monday.

Old directories will be collected at several sites in Cape Girardeau and Jackson, including Schnucks, 19 S. Kingshighway; City of Cape Girardeau Recycling Center, 120 N. Broadway; Student Recreation Center, Southeast Missouri State University Student Recreation Center, 715 New Madrid and all Boatmen's Bank locations in Cape Girardeau and Schaper's IGA, 528 W. Main; City of Jackson, 416 Florence; and all Boatmen's Bank locations in Jackson.

Area schools, Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts have been invited to participate in the program, and prizes will be awarded.

"More details will be announced during a Friday meeting," Felzien said.

All directories collected here will be sent to the Celotex Co. in Camden, Ark., where they will be recycled into insulation.

Since June 1991, Southwestern Yellow pages, which publishes more than 50 million directories -- using about 100,000 tons of paper -- for distribution throughout a five-state region, has been using 10 percent recycled content in about 90 percent of its white pages.

The goal is to increase that recycled content to 30 percent by next year.