Reynolds Metals Company and Wal-Mart stores have joined efforts to offer convenient one-stop shopping and recycling.

Reynolds has opened twelve new recycling centers on Wal-Mart parking lots in the Houston area. Aluminum, paper, and plastic can be recycled at the centers. Cash can be paid to aluminum recyclers or they can donate the value of the aluminum to the Houston Food Bank. Area schools receive donated proceeds from the paper products and plastic soda bottles.

The centers will be open seven days a week. For the locations and hours of operation call 1-800-228-2525.

The Katy Prairie Conservancy is seeking to fill the position of Executive Director. The Conservancy was founded to protect portions of the Katy Prairie as a sustainable ecosystem. Those interested should send a resume and cover letter to: Katy Prairie Conservancy, PO Box 61311, Houston, TX 77208-1311. The salary will be between $25,000 and $30,000, with the possibility for additional benefits.

The Harris County AFL-CIO has formed an broad-based coalition of groups representing a range of issues, including environmentalists. The coalition is an informal collection of groups in which members will be able to choose to act together on issues affecting them. Richard C. Shaw of the AFL-CIO and Jeanne Sommerfeld of the National Organization for Women are co-chairs.

"Labor groups and other public interest groups -- especially the environmental community -- have for too long been working out-of-sync with one another," Shaw said. "So many of our interests are common, and yet we sometimes barely even recognize each other. This coalition, which will stretch into every corner of the public interest sector, will hopefully begin to change that."

The next meeting is Thursday, August 1 at 3 p.m. at the Harris County AFL-CIO Council building, 2506 Sutherland, near I-45, Telephone Road and Wayside Dr. For more information, contact Richard Shaw at 923-9473.

The rules for the annual federal Duck Stamp Art Contest sponsored by the Interior Department's U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service have been altered from the previous years' contest.

The deadline for entry is midnight on August 30, 1996, which is just over two weeks earlier than last year's deadline. The entry fee also was raised to $100. The North American waterfowl eligible for portrayal this year are American green-winged teal, black duck, Canada goose, greater scaup and northern pintail.

Another rule change is a minimum age requirement of 18 for participation. There is a nationwide Junior Duck Stamp Design Program that younger artists are encouraged to participate in through their schools.

Duck stamps are on sale at most U.S. post offices, National Wildlife Refuges and sporting good stores. Proceeds are used for wetlands acquisition for the National Wildlife Refuge System. Since 1934, the stamps have raised more than $500 million and helped purchase more than four million acres of habitat for the refuge system.