Contact: Priscilla Knight, 703-392-1580, pknight@novec.com
MANASSAS, VIRGINIA – The Northern Virginia Electric Cooperative (NOVEC) reported today that its 2006 wooden reel recycling program saved an estimated $22,000, 183 trees, and 567 cubic yards of landfill space from the 550 reels the Co-op recycled. The program saved money for NOVEC customers/members and helped protect the environment.
NOVEC purchases wire and cable on small, medium and large wooden reels. Linemen installed more than three million feet of wire and cable in 2006 to supply electricity to the Co-op’s new customers. (Approximately 5,500 customers/members join NOVEC each year.) Before the Co-op initiated the recycling program, used reels landed in landfills to rot. In 2006, the program averted the disposal of 112,750 pounds of reels in Northern Virginia’s landfills.
According to Kent Cassell, manager of NOVEC’s purchasing department, reel disposal used to “require numerous loads and personnel labor hours at significant expense, as well as adding to local landfills.” Cassell said he was also concerned about the number of trees that had to be cut down in order to make new reels: “NOVEC works to protect the environment as much as possible. I guess you could say we’re ‘green friendly.’”
Cassell found a better idea for the reels. He said, “I stumbled across a recycling program several years ago while discussing our wooden reel disposal situation with one of our major cable suppliers. He told me about SONOCO, a recycling company. We quickly adopted their program, and have used it since.”
SONOCO is headquartered in Hartsville, South Carolina. The company collects, refurbishes and reuses reels in order to better utilize natural resources and reduce disposal waste and cost. SONOCO sends a tractor trailer to NOVEC’s Gainesville, Virginia, warehouse to collect the used reels. It then recycles the reels at little or no cost to the Co-op.
Used reels may also be recycled to NOVEC customers free of charge. Reels may be picked up at the Co-op’s Gainesville warehouse facility.
Bob Terry, NOVEC system stores supervisor, oversees the recycling program. He said he is proud of how NOVEC is helping the environment, as well as saving money. He said, “We all need to do our part to preserve our environment. Why kill trees and fill up landfills when we don’t have to? Recycling just makes good sense for people and businesses.”
