NYNEX receives statewide recognition for environmental excellence; company honored with MassRecycle Award

May 1, 1997

CONTACT: Gia Oei 508-762-1333

NYNEX receives statewide recognition for environmental excellence;
company honored with MassRecycle Award

BOSTON -- NYNEX announced today that the company has received the annual Commercial
Recycling Award for developing and operating an outstanding recycling and waste reduction
program.

At a ceremony held yesterday, MassRecycle presented NYNEX with the award for
significant environmental achievement in 1996, including:

• Recycling 98 percent of the 41 million pounds of cable, wire and telecommunications
  equipment that it removed from its operations;
• Reducing the margins of its white pages directories, implementing surname
  suppression (listing common last names only once), and reducing the weight of the
  white pages, resulting in saving 2,000 tons of paper annually;
• Producing directories that contain 25 percent recycled content and establishing
  a goal of 40 percent by 1998;
• Establishing a process to obtain and use bill return envelopes (127 million
  a year) that contain 100 percent post-consumer fiber, 50 percent of which is from
  recycled telephone directories;
• Saving 1,000 tons of paper by printing bills on both sides of the paper;
• Providing recycling information pages in each phone book that is tailored
  to a community's recycling program.

"NYNEX is proud of our demonstrated commitment to environmental protection
and recycling," said Ken Teal, NYNEX Director of Environmental Issues, Paper
and Recycling. "We continue to work hard to identify and take advantage of unique
opportunities where recycling, or environmental protection, also result in cost savings.
It's a win-win for NYNEX and the environment."

A panel of independent judges representing Massachusetts businesses selected
the winners based on their dedication to reducing waste, recycling, and purchasing
recycled products. All businesses in Massachusetts were eligible to receive this
recognition.

MassRecycle is a statewide, non-profit coalition of 800 individuals, including
local and state government representatives, business, industry, and environmental
groups, dedicated to promoting and facilitating waste reduction, reuse and recycling
in order to reap the environmental, social and economic benefits derived from these
activities.

NYNEX is a global communications and media corporation that provides a full
range of services in the northeastern United States and high-growth markets around
the world, including the United Kingdom, Thailand, Gibraltar, Greece, Indonesia,
the Philippines, Poland, Slovakia and the Czech Republic.

The corporation is a leader in telecommunications, wireless communications,
directory publishing and video entertainment and information services. NYNEX is also
managing sponsor of FLAG -- Fiberoptic Link Around the Globe -- the world's longest
undersea fiber optic communications cable. NYNEX news releases are available on the
Internet at http://www.ba.com/nr/pastnews.html
or via fax for no charge at 1-800-331-1214.