“I recycle because it helps to keep our world clean,” that’s what Hunter Goodman, a student from Huntingdon Primary School says when asked about the Eastman sponsored Good Sports Always Recycle™ program.

Hunter’s school was one of 10 schools that were rewarded and recognized for their school recycling programs as part of the Good Sports Always Recycle™ program.

Eastman started the program 15 years ago in partnership with the University of Tennessee. Since then, other sponsors have joined such as Food City, Waste Connections and the Knoxville Coca-Cola Bottling Company.

“Our school has a ten person team that recycles,” Goodman says. “We pick up litter after all the football games at my school and then we recycle what we can. We also visit classrooms around the school and teach other kids about how they can help the earth by recycling. It is a lot of fun,” he says.

Eastman sponsors this program to aid and encourage the recycling of its PET polymer and other recyclable materials. It’s estimated that more than 8 million plastic cups have been recycled since the beginning of this program – that’s enough cups, if placed end-to-end, to equal the distance to the top of Mount Everest 126 times.

There are two elements to the GSAR. One is the promotion to encourage UT fans to put their plastic cups in recycling bins throughout the stadium. The other is an educational component that allows schools across the state to enter their recycling programs in a challenge to encourage Tennessee students to do their part to help the environment.

Over the past 15 years, Eastman has donated $75,000 to schools throughout the state that have participated in the GSAR program. “When Eastman began the Good Sports Always Recycle program 15 years ago, it was a natural extension of our commitment to protect the environment and to encourage future generations to do the same,” said Linda Lewis, Eastman’s vice president of Sustainability. “Eastman men and women believe we can make the world a better place through efforts like this recycling program. It’s especially rewarding to know that over the years thousands of students in hundreds of schools in Tennessee have embraced recycling as a personal commitment.”

PET, manufactured by Eastman, is the most commonly used recycled product. Recycled PET is used to insulate ski coats, sleeping bags and can also be found in upholstery, clothing, roofing, automotive parts, luggage, athletic shoes and new PET containers.

Eastman encourages the recycling of PET and is a member of the Association of Post Consumer Plastics Recyclers (APR). Eastman works with APR to make sure its materials are compatible with recycling streams. More than 1800 business in North America are involved in the recycling of post consumer products.

“The ability to recycle our PET makes it a preferred material with customers working towards sustainability,” says Tom Pecorini, senior research associate. “Its recyclability makes it a high ranking product on sustainability measures scorecards, which is becoming more and more important to our customers.”