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Park City • Stacey Harris wanted to immerse her second-graders at Parley's Park Elementary School in a science project.
But the Park City teacher was wondering what would grab her students' attention when a parent volunteer pointed her in the direction of the school cafeteria, where she watched children throw piles of trash and unused food into large garbage bins.
There wasn't a recycling bin in sight.
That's when Harris realized the perfect challenge: creating a school-wide recycling program.
"It became so obvious. That's what we can do," said Harris of developing a plan to better reuse school resources.
The idea to create a sustainable recycling program unfolded over the school year, when the 50 students enrolled in Harris' and teacher Jose Ardanaz's class began sporting bright-orange vests during lunch breaks. The distinction marked them as members of "Team Earth Lovers" who helped classmates dispose of yogurt containers, milk cartons and other recyclable items in labeled containers as lunchtime ended each day.
The experiment has resulted in a dramatic decrease in the amount of garbage transported from the school to the landfill, Harris said. It also earned the kids a second place prize in the 2012 Siemens "We Can Change the World" contest, which drew entries for promoting environmental sustainability in schools from more than 27,000 students across the U.S.
The award includes $3,000 for the school, and each student team member earns $50 in Discovery Education merchandise as well as other tokens to be used in the classroom.
Siemens is a global corporation that specializes in electronic and electrical engineering for the healthcare, industry, energy sectors.
While students are elated to be honored, Harris is pleased the endeavor has sparked the school to continue recycling efforts next year.
The project started with students watching videos of successful recycling programs being implemented in communities across the country. Students spoke to a non-profit recycling organization and met with the company that gathers recyclables from the school to research information about what could be recycled from school lunch trays.
Students crafted a 10-foot banner for the cafeteria that said "We Can Change the World." They also made a video for classmates that featured a three-foot-tall orange puppet named "Captain Recycle," who explained the benefits of recycling.
The next step was getting the school's custodial staff on board. Custodians agreed to help students weigh garbage and track the level of garbage being sent to the landfill before and after the recycling program. After a week of weighing pre-recycled trash, students learned the school sent an average of 1,500 pounds of garbage to the dump each week.
Three months after the project began, custodians weighed the school's trash again. Students learned the weight of trash had dropped to 175 pounds a day, or 875 pounds a week.
The effect hasn't been lost on Harris' students.
"I learned how to put trash in the right bin and recycle in the right bin. We used to just dump all of our trash," said student Abbey Cobleigh.
"Now I know what trash is, and recycling is," added her classmate, Amanda Rossi.
Harris and Tanya McIntyre, head of the adult volunteer "Green Team," which helps the school with the recycling program at lunch, said it will continue next year.
The prize money will help purchase a new sink for the cafeteria, so milk can be disposed of more quickly.
Harris said another school in Park City has visited to learn more about the program. She's optimistic other schools may follow the school's lead.
"We made mistakes, but we worked them out," said Harris of the project's initial days. "I'm hoping that if we inspire, we can be a model."
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Learn more
O Visit Parley's Park Elementary School's page about its recycling program at recyclingfalcons.com.