Interstate Van Lines Joins Wreaths Across America to Honor Our Nation’s Fallen Heroes

Collaborative effort among suppliers leads to a reduced environmental footprint, improved sustainability and additional funding to help further the mission of WAA

Interstate Van Lines, a leading provider of global moving, relocation and logistics services, is joining Wreaths Across America (WAA) and hundreds of other volunteers this week to honor fallen U.S. veterans by delivering Remembrance Wreaths for placement on their graves at Arlington National Cemetery and more than 2,000 participating locations across the country on Wreaths Across America Day, Saturday, December 14.

 “Interstate is proud to support the mission of Wreaths Across America, which is to Remember, Honor and Teach,” says Interstate President John (J.D.) Morrissette. “This ceremonial occasion serves as a reminder of the sacrifices our fallen heroes have made in service to our nation, and we are eternally grateful to them for protecting our freedom.”

Interstate is supporting WAA with two tractor-trailers and drivers, along with 95 employee volunteers. On December 10, Interstate driver John Graham departed for Columbia Falls, Maine to pick up 4,545 wreaths destined for Arlington National Cemetery, where 50 Interstate volunteers will participate in Saturday’s wreath-laying ceremony. Earlier in the week, Interstate driver Morris Pearsall hauled 4,518 wreaths over 1,500 miles from Maine to veterans’ cemeteries in New Jersey and West Virginia.

At the conclusion of Saturday’s wreath-laying ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery, WAA volunteers will break down, stack and load the empty boxes onto the 70-plus trucks that delivered the wreaths. Participating Honor Fleet drivers will then proceed to Interstate’s Springfield, Virginia facility, where 45 Interstate volunteers will unload the International Paper Company-provided corrugated packing materials from each truck. The boxes will be separated from the wood skids, loaded onto freight trucks provided by Cowan Systems, LLC and transported to a Gladstone, Virginia mill operated by Greif Containerboard Mills, for off-loading and recycling. Greif will then use a repulper to produce recycled linerboard from the old corrugated boxes, which can be used to make new boxes. The proceeds generated from the recycling of these boxes will be donated to WAA to fund the purchase of additional wreaths in 2020. In all, International Paper expects Interstate will transfer the equivalent of 40,000 boxes through its service center for recycling.

“At International Paper, we are committed to improving our environmental footprint and promoting the long-term sustainability of natural capital,” says Dave Kumar, national accounts sales manager, International Paper Recycling. “Prior to our collaboration with Interstate and the other closed-loop suppliers, the empty WAA boxes were being sent to a landfill after a single use, at a very high cost to WAA and the environment. By working together, we’ve managed to convert a large expense into a source of additional funding to help further the mission of WAA in an eco-friendly way.”

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