U.S. Cities Recycle Over 115 Million Aluminum Cans During National Challenge

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Cans for Cash Winners Announced at U.S. Conference of Mayors Winter Meeting

WASHINGTON, Feb. 11 /PRNewswire/ -- The U.S. Conference of Mayors, Novelis Inc. and Keep America Beautiful, Inc. (KAB) announced the winners in the fifth annual Cans for Cash: City Recycling Challenge at the U.S. Conference of Mayors 77th Winter Meeting in Washington, D.C. To encourage recycling, the program challenges like-sized cities to compete against each other in aluminum can collection for monetary awards. During October 2008, more than 40 cities collected over 115 million used beverage cans.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20070809/NOVELISLOGO)

"We are proud that our Cans for Cash Program helped jump-start existing programs and redirected many communities to focus on a common goal," said Conference President Miami Mayor Manny Diaz. "The City Recycling Challenge is an excellent example of the type of sustainable initiatives we are encouraging through the U.S. Conference of Mayors' 10-Point Plan.

"Recycling plays a critical role in maintaining the aluminum can as an environmentally sustainable package," said Jean-Marc Germain, President, Novelis North America. "Every can that is recovered is turned back into a new beverage can, saving energy, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and decreasing the use of natural resources. Plus, the aluminum beverage can is the only packaging material that more than covers the cost of collection and re-processing for itself and subsidizes other containers."

The winners of the $5,000 awards for the most aluminum cans recycled are:

    --  Division One (population 250,000+) Milwaukee, WI*  - 1,750,595 pounds,
        Mayor Tom Barrett
    --  Division Two (population 100,000-249,999) Fontana, CA* - 266,271 pounds,
        Mayor Mark Nuami
    --  Division Three (population 50,000-99,999) Hesperia, CA - 1,120,660
        pounds, Mayor Mike Leonard
    --  Division Four (population below 50,000)  - University City, MO 56,211
        pounds, Mayor Joseph L. Adams

* Note: 2007 Winners in Division Category

To help mayors engage their communities in recycling and raise awareness about its importance over the long term, cities submitted innovative education and marketing ideas for an additional $5,000 award. The cities being recognized for the most innovative campaigns are as follows:

    --  Division One:  Lexington, KY, Mayor Jim Newberry
    --  Division Two:  Irvine, CA, Mayor Sukhee Kong
    --  Division Three: North Miami, FL, Mayor Kevin Burns
    --  Division Four: Troy, OH, Mayor Mike Beamish

The following winning cities will be awarded $5,000 and their local Keep America Beautiful, Inc. affiliate will be awarded $2,500:

    --  Division One:  Louisville, KY*, Mayor Jerry E. Abramson
    --  Division Two: Newport News, VA, Mayor Joseph Frank
    --  Division Three: Gastonia, NC, Mayor Jennie Stultz
    --  Division Four: LaGrange, GA*, Mayor Jeff Lukken

* Note: 2007 Winners in Division Category

"Keep America Beautiful encourages individuals and communities to increase their recycling rates, thus saving energy and reducing carbon emissions," said Keep America Beautiful President & CEO Matthew McKenna. "With partners Novelis and the U.S. Conference of Mayors - as well as Keep America Beautiful affiliate winners in Louisville, Ky., Newport News Va., Gastonia, N.C. and LaGrange, Ga. - we believe Cans for Cash is helping to heighten awareness of aluminum can recycling, and helping recycling to flourish in cities across the nation."

For a complete list of cities that participated in the 2008 Cans for Cash program, please visit: www.cans4cash.com.

Note to Editor: Cans For Cash: City Recycling Challenge Historical Data 


                  Year     Pounds of Aluminum     No. of Aluminum Cans
                             Cans Collected            Collected
                  2004             1,834,699              62,379,767
                  2005             3,147,828             107,026,156
                  2006             2,419,284              82,255,656
                  2007             5,627,000             191,318,010
                  2008             3,401,859             115,663,195

The U.S. Conference of Mayors is the official nonpartisan organization of cities with populations of 30,000 or more. There are 1,139 such cities in the country today, each represented in the Conference by its chief elected official, the Mayor. For additional information, visit www.usmayors.org.

Novelis Inc. is the global leader in aluminum rolled products and aluminum can recycling. The company operates in 11 countries, employs approximately 12,700 people and reported revenue of $11.2 billion in fiscal year 2008. Novelis supplies premium aluminum sheet and foil products to automotive, transportation, packaging, construction, industrial and printing markets throughout North America, South America, Europe and Asia. Novelis is a subsidiary of Hindalco Industries Limited, Asia's largest integrated producer of aluminum and a leading copper producer. Hindalco is the flagship company of the Aditya Birla Group, a multinational conglomerate based in Mumbai, India. For additional information, visit www.novelis.com

Keep America Beautiful, Inc., established in 1953, is the nation's largest volunteer-based community action and education organization. With a network of nearly 1,000 affiliate and participating organizations, Keep America Beautiful forms public-private partnerships and programs that engage individuals to take greater responsibility for improving their community environments. For additional information, visit www.kab.org.

SOURCE Novelis, Inc.

Released February 11, 2009