In April St. Joseph School and Church won the Paper Retriever Earth Day Challenge, part of a contest from Abitibibowater, with the ultimate goal of collecting 25 tons of paper over 9 months. In March, St. Joseph not only collected more paper than it did a year ago, but it also brought in a record 6.56 tons. This blows away its original goal of collecting 5 tons of paper a month, and the 1.51 tons it collected in March 2010. St. Joseph has three green and yellow Paper Retriever bins located in its school and church parking lots.

Members of the school’s Green Team credit the drive’s success to the more than 200 boxes that the students decorated and took home as a reminder to collect junk mail, scrap paper, newspapers and magazines to bring to the school bins.

Boxes were also given to church parishioners. Office Depot in Evanston, Staples in Glenview and John Millen Hardware in Wilmette, all graciously donated boxes.

“It really does prove that each person putting in their boxes’ worth of paper is really adding up,” said Legia Uhm, Green Team member and St. Joseph School parent. “I am so glad that all that work we put into getting boxes for everyone is making a difference.”

All together, St. Joseph now ranks 87th out of 1,433 Paper Retriever accounts in the Chicago Area and Northwest Indiana, and 110 out of 1,460 Paper Retrievers in the State of Illinois. Year to date, St. Joseph’s bins have saved 41.70 cubic yards of landfill and 57,017.80 KWH energy.