WOMAN CLAIMS RECYCLING PLAN WAS FOILED

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SUNDAY, February 7, 1993                   TAG: 9302070107
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C5   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: RICHMOND                                LENGTH: Medium
WOMAN CLAIMS RECYCLING PLAN WAS FOILED
In 1982, Gerry Davis went to Reynolds Metals Co. with an idea she thought would get youngsters interested in saving used aluminum.
The company foiled her plan, then recycled the idea about a decade later without giving her credit, she said.
"The thought was, you get school kids to collect aluminum foil, bring it to school and save it up in big balls of foil. Then the school with the largest amount would win a prize. I called it `Keep the Ball Rolling."'
Reynolds Metals' "Great Balls of Foil!" contests last spring generated 36 tons of aluminum waste from 1,600 schools in 33 states. All of it was hauled to Reynolds recycling centers.
"It's gone wonderfully," said Reynolds Metals spokeswoman Anne Waring.
Davis said when she pitched her "Keep the Ball Rolling" idea to Reynolds Metals executives, "I was told it wasn't feasible. They said, `Thanks, but no thanks.' Now they won't even admit that they ever talked to me."
Waring said the company would not comment on Davis' allegations beyond statements in a letter written last year by a company lawyer.
Nor would the company say whether Davis met with company executives on June 28, 1982, at the company's Richmond headquarters.
In 1991 - nine years later - Reynolds introduced its school recycling program. Promotional materials tell foil collectors to "be sure to clean it as thoroughly as possible."
Davis, owner of a Norfolk public relations firm, said she doesn't intend to take legal action against the company and she doesn't want a financial stake in the recycling campaign. She said she just wants acknowledgement that she contributed to the concept Reynolds Metals is using.
Reynolds Metals lawyer Lawrence Tuskey wrote in January 1992 that no one recalled Davis "making any proposals concerning aluminum foil recycling."
Last year, "Great Balls of Foil!" grew to 70 markets nationwide and Reynolds awarded more than $100,000 in prizes to more than 300 schools.

by Archana Subramaniam by CNB