Southeast Renewables Will Recycle Up To 70% of Tornado Debris

BIRMINGHAM, AL, May 18, 2011

The tornados that swept through the South on April 27th of this year uprooted families, homes, and livelihoods. In its wake it left thousands of trees and homes strewn across the community. In Birmingham, the devastation impacted several communities, and flattened Pratt City. Mayor William Bell of Birmingham, along with the City Council and other community leaders have moved quickly to clean up the debris and begin helping communities rebuild their homes and lives.

Estimates of the amount of debris range as high as 70,000 tons. Rather than burying this material, the City of Birmingham has taken a bold step to recover this material and reuse or recycle as much as possible. Southeast Renewables (SER), a proven operator of Material Recovery Facilities, was chosen to help divert up to 70% of Birmingham's tornado debris away from landfills. SER will recover, recycle and find ways to reuse the material. This industry leading move will save Birmingham money, extend the life of the existing landfills and establish a new and innovative method to revitalize communities affected by disasters.

In addition to recovering the material and finding new uses, SER has developed a partnership with the Alabama Environmental Council (AEC) to provide third party monitoring of recycling operations at the Birmingham facility operated by SER in addition to recycling education and outreach programming. Michael Churchman, Executive Director of the Alabama Environment Council stated "The Alabama Environmental Council has been working on waste reduction issues for more than 25 years and are proud to be a part of this project. Birmingham is setting an example of a shift in mind-set that will result in a cleaner community. This project also shows how closely tied the environment and economy are with creation of new local jobs and capturing these materials to inject back into the market."

SER's state of the art Material Recovery Facility will not only help the environment, it will also provide approximately 40 local jobs in the Birmingham market. "We look forward to employing people from local communities destroyed by the tornado and lend a hand in a time of need" said Ted O'Shea, Chief Operating Officer, Southeast Renewables. SER is working to attain approvals at the State and Federal level required to establish a recovery fund, which will be administered and distributed by the City of Birmingham, to support recovery efforts. SER will donate fifty cents for every cubic yard of material received at its Birmingham facility.

About Southeast Renewables (SER): SER's mission is to be a global leader in recycling and waste processing. The partners of SER began working in the waste disposal industry in 1960 and pioneered large scale, commercial recycling when we commenced recycling operations in the mid-1980s in Huntington Beach, CA. Since that time, we have developed technology and methods that have allowed us to become award winning industry leaders in recycling efficiency and innovation. We are constantly striving for new alternatives to turn today's waste into tomorrow's commodity. For more information visit: http://southrenew.com

Contact: Toni Smalls, 205.746.2626 or Toni@southrenew.com