About Lake Oconee news. (Greensboro, GA) 199?-current | View Entire Issue (April 21, 2017)
Page A2 Lake Oconee News Friday, April 21, 2017 A forklift hauls bales of cans through the Novelis plant. Contributed A Novelis worker puts in a day's work among cubes of crushed cans. Contributed Novelis keeping it green in Greensboro Since 1980, the Novelis recycling plant in Greens boro has helped the city and surrounding areas not only through collecting and reusing aluminum, but also by providing employment opportunities and engaging in charitable works. Novelis’ large rural facility (the total site encompasses 40.6 acres, and the recycling plant measures 153,000 square feet) is nestled in Greensboro’s outskirts. From the outside, towers of crushed, multi-colored cans can be seen. The interior features areas for shredding and melting, including three furnaces running at a 1,500 degrees Fahrenheit and another for casting ingots. The ingots cast at Novelis range from 35 to 53 thousand pounds each. Once pressed and cooled, the ingots are put on flatbed trucks and shipped away for processing, with around 20-25 such trucks leaving the facility daily. The average turnaround period for an aluminum can placed in a recycling bin is a mere 60 days, and as aluminum, unlike paper and glass, is an infinitely recycla ble material, there is still aluminum in circulation today that was mined before the turn of the 20th century. The Greensboro plant is the only Novelis operation in the state of Georgia, but the company has a global reach with facilities in Kentucky, New York and South Korea. Its Greensboro location is a major employer in the area, with 133 workers and a total payout of $9 million in wages and benefits. It also has a commitment to engaging the community with the recycling process, as Daniel Groce, the com munications and govern ment affairs lead for the company’s North American division, put it: “We want to let people to know that when they drive by they see the bales of cans outside, and that’s what recycling looks like.” Novelis also contributes to the community in the form of partnerships with centers like the Pete Nance Boys and Girls Club, which, according to human re sources director Charity Burnette, features a Novelis lab and classroom space wherein young people can work on different science projects. Burnette is espe cially proud of the work that has been done in engaging young women and girls: programs like Smart Girls aim to teach girls about the importance of becoming involved in science, technol ogy, engineering and math ematics (STEM) programs, and Women in Novelis gives young women real-life examples of women working in a science-based industry. Groce also pointed out the work the company has done with the University of Georgia, where Novelis sponsors an engineering development program that aims to employ new grad uates. Burnette said that six fresh engineering grads will be employed by the company this year. Other projects include a recycling partnership with the Atlanta Falcons, spon sorship of local Habitat for Humanity efforts and recy cling and STEM education efforts at local schools. ‘We do a lot of recy cling education with local school systems, and we have a partnership with LOA where we’ve donated robotics to try to help with their engineering pathways,” Burnette ex plained. “In these smaller rural areas we don’t have as much STEM education as what you might find in Atlanta, so we like to get Contributed involved in that ” Enormous ingots being cast at the Greensboro plant. MELISSA BEASLEY jf il it I am in recovery, gainfully employed and it is my desire to give back for what was so freely given to me.JJ Learn how your donations create jobs and career advancement for people like Melissa, right here in our community at www.goodwillworks. org!Success. Join BankSouth, The Ritz-Carlton Reynolds, Lake Oconee, and Reynolds Lake Oconee for a community picnic as we honor and show support for all Law Enforcement Officers of Greene County! WHO Any and all who want to show their support for local law enforcement. WHAT Lunch, live music and other special exhibits. Our honored guests will include the Greene County Sheriff's Department, City of Greensboro Police Department, City of Union Point Police Department, GBI, FBI, DNR, Georgia State Patrol, EMS and Fire Department. WHEN Saturday, April 22 || 12:30-3:30 PM || Rain or Shine WHERE BankSouth || 200 North East Street Greensboro TICKETS $10 donation includes lunch and live entertainment. Free to all law enforcement personnel and their immediate families. DONORS Friend $100 || Silver $250 || Gold $500 || Platinum $1,000+ Net proceeds from donations and ticket sales will go to BankSouth Foundation and from there a donation will be presented to Georgia C.O.P.S and Greene County Safe and Secure Foundation. BankSouth the ritz-carlton n? Member FDIC. REYNOLDS, LAKE OCONEE REYNOLDS LAKE OCONEE FOR QUESTIONS, PLEASE CONTACT! Sarah Peacock: 404-597-6620, speacock@banksouth.com
