Montana lieutenant governor receives Recycling Impact Award

Montana Lt. Gov. Mike Cooney has received the first Recycling Impact Award, a nationwide recognition of his work on recycling stewardship. The Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI), Washington, says it plans to present the Recycling Impact Award in partnership with the National Lieutenant Governors Association (NLGA), Covington, Kentucky, annually to an NLGA member who is committed to working within a state, region or communities to positively impact resource conservation and recycling.

“Lt. Gov. Cooney is an influential public leader in our community, state and country promoting economic and environmental benefits of recycling,” says Great Falls, Montana-based Pacific Steel & Recycling CEO and President Jeff Millhollin, who presented Cooney with the award. “Furthermore, Mike has been instrumental in developing and supporting policy in the best interests of both his constituents and the recycling industry. This includes co-sponsoring the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries’ ‘Scrap is not Waste’ resolution in 2016, which the NLGA subsequently adopted.”

“Lt. Gov. Cooney is a champion of the recycling industry, not just through policy, but also through the example he sets personally,” says Robin Wiener, president of ISRI. “While working at the Montana Department of Labor and Industry, he collected recyclables from other employees and took them to a collection center himself.

“He also works at collection points throughout the state on his own time as a way of promoting recycling. The lieutenant governor is also an advocate for rural recycling programs throughout Montana. For his efforts to promote recycling we are pleased to honor Montana Lt. Gov. Mike Cooney with the first Recycling Impact Award,” she says.

Cooney is the head of Montana’s SMART Schools Challenge. The program encourages schools to promote energy efficiency, environmentally sound practices and reduce waste by recycling. As a result of this effort, 82,000 pounds of material was diverted from landfills this year and into the recycling stream.

“As lieutenant governor, it’s been a priority to make recycling simple and accessible to more Montanans and encourage everyone, especially young people, to be thoughtful about their choices and impact on the planet,” Lt. Gov. Cooney says. “It’s an honor to be recognized and I’m thrilled to keep working with Montanans to protect Montana for generations to come.”