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Department of Ecology News Release - March 19, 2008
08-070
BELLEVUE – After a long winter, area roads and highways need cleaning up. But the Washington Department of Ecology’s (Ecology) Ecology Youth Corps, which employs teens to help with the effort, hasn’t received enough applications this year in King County and the northern Puget Sound region of the state.
Ecology Youth Corps crew members are needed throughout northwestern Washington to work cleaning up roadsides and other public lands this summer.
Applicants must be aged 14-17 and enrolled in a local area school. They need to fill out an application form and provide two references from school personnel such as a teacher, counselor, principal or coach.
Applications are available at area high school counselor offices or on line at: http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/swfa/eyc/nwro.html. Applications are due April 8, 2008, at Ecology’s Northwest Regional Office in Bellevue.
“These are good jobs,” said Northwest Washington youth corps manager Steven Williams. “The teens make more than $8 an hour and have the satisfaction of knowing they’ve helped to protect our environment and make Washington more beautiful and hospitable to visitors.”
The Ecology Youth Corps is Washington state's largest youth employment program. Every year, more than 350 teens are hired statewide. They gain valuable job skills, teamwork experience, and safety awareness while learning about the environment at the same time.
“Litter crews have provided a vital service across the state for more than 30 years,” said Williams. “Statewide, our crews pick up approximately 600 tons of litter each year and recycle 140,000 pounds of material.”
The Washington Waste Reduction, Recycling, and Model Litter Control Act, provides funding for the Ecology Youth Corps through a litter tax levied on various manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers throughout Washington State. Items taxed are products that tend to become litter such as fast food, beverages, tobacco products, paper products, non-drug sundry items, and others.
For more information, teens from Island, King, Kitsap, Skagit, Snohomish and Whatcom counties may contact 425-649-7048 or stwi461@ecy.wa.gov for job details.
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Media Contacts:
Steven Williams, Ecology Youth Corps coordinator, Northwest Region, 425-649-7048 Larry Altose, Ecology media relations, 425-649-7009; pager 206-663-1785
For more information:
Ecology Youth Corps jobs:
http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/swfa/eyc/nwro.html
Ecology Youth Corps background:
http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/swfa/eyc/index.html
Copyright © Washington State Department of Ecology. See http://www.ecy.wa.gov/copyright.html.
