FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 4, 2010
Arizona State Senate
1700 W. Washington St.
Phoenix, AZ 85007
Senator Amanda Aguirre, D-24
(602) 926-4139

STATE CAPITOL, Phoenix – Sen. Amanda Aguirre was awarded the Legislative Advocate of the Year award at the Second Arizona Recycling Coalition/American Public Works Association (AzRC/APWA) conference on August 3, in Phoenix.

"An increasing population means that we have to be extra vigilant in order to protect our natural resources," said Aguirre. "With the help of hundreds of volunteers, we have cleaned up tons of illegally dumped waste and have created an education curriculum on recycling education for 10,000 elementary school students."

Along with receiving the award, Aguirre will be speaking about the International Alliance Project 'No Contamine/ Don't Trash the Border" of which she is the project leader. The organization is a joint effort to educate border communities in Yuma County and San Luis Rio Colorado, Sonora, Mexico about the importance of recycling, conservation, personal responsibility and illegal dumping prevention. It engages public, private, state, federal and tribal organizations to develop a clearinghouse of recycling center resources. The organization sponsors clean-up campaigns in target areas that are highly impacted by illegal dumping on both sides of the border.

A statement from the Arizona Recycling Coalition reads:
"This award recognizes Senator Aguirre's work promoting recycling and sustainability in the State of Arizona. Sustainability is in essence the idea that everything is interconnected. The Senator's work and leadership with No Contamine La Frontera, the international alliance between Arizona and Mexico has shown tremendous stewardship of our land by cleaning up illegal dump sites and recycling and reusing when possible. The Senator has established various partnerships to help clean our borders. This has created a renewed sense of pride among the communities who live and work in the area; as well as teach the importance of taking care of the land and recycling."

At the Senate, Aguirre is a member of the Natural Resources, Infrastructure and Public Debt committee and is a previous member of the Natural Resources and Rural Affairs committee.

The Arizona Recycling Coalition (AzRC) is a non-profit organization of professionals and citizens pledged to promoting recycling efforts in the public sector and in business communities throughout Arizona. AzRC provides strong leadership on waste reduction issues and promotes the Reduce, Reuse and Recycle ethic through education and membership involvement in the state.

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Media Contact:

Jeanette Tejeda de Gomez
Director of Communication, Senate Democratic Caucus
602-926-4477, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
www.azsenatedemocrats.com