LINCOLN, Neb. -- The Keep Keith County Beautiful (KKCB) non-profit won the Commonwealth Award at the annual Nebraska Recycling Conference in Lincoln last week.

The Nebraska Recycling Council (NRC) held their annual conference at the Graduate Hotel in Lincoln. The conference touched on topics in resource recovery for municipalities, businesses and for rural and urban recycling programs.

Featured sessions included the best practices on supporting recycling programs in changing recycling markets, targeting materials not traditionally recycled, an update on composting in Nebraska, and a focus on local companies sharing their perspective on environmentally conscious business models.

The conference featured President and CEO of the Association of Plastic Recyclers Steve Alexander.

According to KKCB, Alexander shared the need to increase plastic recycling through education and more opportunities.

Break-out sessions featured Western Resources Group’s Logistics Coordinator Aaron Withington, Danielle Easdale, Director of Sales and Marketing for First Star Fiber in Omaha and Matt O’Connell Recycling Coordinator, City of Omaha.

The session featured the need for recycling facilities, and cities to plan for cash flow issues by continuously moving products.

WRG is the Material Recovery Facility for Western Nebraska supported by Keep Keith County Beautiful and 44 other communities in the region. At the conference, KKCB was awarded the Commonwealth Award.

The Commonwealth Award recognizes a business, organization, or individual that gives its time, talent, and treasure to the community in which it operates to improve the natural environment or health, welfare, and common good for all stakeholders through better materials management.

“We are so honored to be recognized for the efforts of our Keep Keith County Beautiful is the premiere educational organization in Western Nebraska for litter reduction, recycling and environmental sustainability," KKCB Executive Director Chris Vail said.

KKCB engages youth, educates students and communities, and prepares citizens for leadership in litter reduction and recycling, organizational leaders said.

Supported by the Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy and the Nebraska Environmental Trust, KKCB leads western Nebraska in program-development for residents and guests to the state’s second largest tourist attraction, Lake McConaughy with their #beachcrew.net litter collection app.

The Nebraska Recycling Council is a statewide, member-based, 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. KKCB says its mission is to maximize the economic and environmental benefits of resource recovery in Nebraska, and their vision is a future in which all materials are reserved for their highest and best use press release and landfill disposal is the last resort.

KKCB said their greatest wish is to protect Nebraska’s good life for future generations. The NRC recently named Ogallala High School graduate, Haley Nolde, as Executive Director.