Southwestern Bell Yellow Pages and Southwestern Bell Telephone Co. have kicked off the 1998 Project ReDirectory program.

Distribution of more than 67,000 copies of the new Southwestern Bell Cape Girardeau Region Directory started this week and should be completed by the end of October.

Project ReDirectory, a campaign to recycle outdated directories starts Monday, and will continue through Nov. 13.

Artwork for the cover of the latest local directory was taken by Cape Girardeau photographer Bill Hughey, and features a riverboat making its way down the Mississipppi River as two young lads watch while fishing form the bank.

Area residents are encouraged to take part in the 7th annual Project ReDirectory campaign. Old phone books can be dropped off at a number of locations.

Cape Girardeau drop-off sites include all NationsBank locations, Schnucks Grocery, Southeast Missouri State University Recreation Center, and the City of Cape Girardeau Recycle Center at 120 N. Broadview.

In addition, old directories will be picked up with other recyclable material as part of the city's curbside collection program.

In Jackson, directors can be taken to Schaper's IGA Plus, and the City of Jackson vehicle maintenance facility at 416 Florence.

"By simply dropping off the outdate directories, area residents can take part in the campaign to save trees and landfill space,' said Don Fisher of Southwestern Bell. "We hope everyone will take part in the program."

Outdated directories can be recycled into such products as paper napkins, paper towels, roofing shingles, shoe boxes and other items, said Fisher.

Since the first ReDirectory project, in 1992, more than 97,000 pounds of directories have been recycled, saving more than 800 mature trees and keeping the old books out of landfills. Project ReDirectory is conducted in 40 cities throughout Southwestern Bell's five-state region.

The new directory maintains its new size format, introduced two year ago, featuring a three-column format on 10 3/4 x 7-inch pages.

In addition to residential numbers and yellow pages, the new directories includes a calendar of events, Southeast Missouri State University sports schedules and seating diagrams for the university's Show Me Center, and Busch Stadium at St. Louis.