Columbus Area Schools, Churches and Nonprofits Among Recycling Drive Winners

COLUMBUS, Ohio, June 5 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Abitibi-Consolidated, North America's largest recycler of newspapers and magazines, today announced the winners of the 2006 Great Paper Drive, a two-month challenge designed to promote environmental awareness and increase paper recycling.

Winning organizations and community participants collected the most paper by contributing newspapers, magazines, office and school papers, catalogues and mail into their green and yellow Abitibi Paper Retriever(R) recycling containers located at their facility. Although the container may be located on the premises of an organization, residents of the community also helped the effort by bringing their papers to one of these bins as well.

Winners include: Public Schools Tussing Elementary School Reynoldsburg $500 Stevenson Elementary School Columbus $300 Fairbanks Elementary School Milford Center $200 Private Schools St. Michael School Worthington $500 Our Lady of Perpetual Help Grove City $300 Holy Spirit School Columbus $200 Places of Worship Redeemer Lutheran Church Columbus $500 Parkview United Methodist Church Columbus $300 Shawnee Hills Community Church Shawnee Hills $200 All Others CURB of Clintonville Columbus $500 Keep Franklin County Beautiful Columbus $300 Humane Society of Madison County London $200

"Our community went above and beyond to collect paper and participate in our contest," said Kerry Copeland, Columbus area manager for Abitibi Paper Retriever(R). "We believe the efforts of all who contributed paper to our customers shows that people are becoming more attuned to the responsibility that we have to the environment and our natural resources."

The 2006 Great Paper Drive contest ran March 1 to April 30. Customers won cash prizes ranging from $200 to $2,000, in addition to regular payments for recycling paper.

To see a complete list of winners, inquire about the program, learn more about the Abitibi Paper Retriever(R) or request a bin, visit PaperRetriever.com or call 1.877.Urban.Forest (872-2636).

Abitibi Paper Retriever(R) is a free community paper recycling program that allows participating organizations to earn money while learning the environmental benefits of recycling.

Abitibi-Consolidated is a global leader in newsprint and commercial printing papers as well as a major producer of wood products, serving clients in some 70 countries from its 45 operating facilities. Abitibi-Consolidated is the largest recycler of newspapers and magazines in North America, diverting annually approximately 1.9 million tons of waste paper from landfills. It also ranks first in Canada in terms of total certified woodlands. Abitibi- Consolidated shares are traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX: A) and on the New York Stock Exchange .