Best: Public Vehicle: Long Beach, Calif.

WORLD WASTES STAFF

Stacy Stephens, recycling specialist for the city of Long Beach, Calif., believes specially painted recycling trucks can serve as rolling billboards.

"They help our recycling program achieve a high participation rate," she said. The city's trucks serve more than 100,000 residential households in Long Beach's curbside recycling program.

Stephens' plan seems to be working: The bright "Recycle Long Beach" logo certainly caught the eyes of the World Wastes judges.

The winning design, which is painted on the city's 20-member fleet, was created by city officials in 1992 to promote their new recycling program. The goal, said Stephens, was to reach maximum visual impact.

"We also needed a body that could handle oil recycling bottles," she said. Today, the GMC trucks feature a Dempster body, which was outfitted with special racks.