posted February 26, 2010
) Photo by Eric Beavers with Whitfield County Schools Pleasant Grove Elementary students help collect recyclable paper from the school classrooms during the after school care program. |
Pleasant Grove Elementary began recycling mixed paper with the Target Recycling program managed by the Dalton-Whitfield Solid Waste Authority (DWSWA) last year. However, their numbers remained under 1 lb. per student each month. It took some newfound enthusiasm and leadership from the principal, Mr. Richard Knox, and key staff members, like teacher Chris Harrison, to get the students and other staff motivated to participate in recycling.
Recycling bins in every room collect mixed paper and serve as daily reminders to recycle. Mixed paper includes newspaper, writing paper, office paper, magazines, junk mail, telephone books, cardboard, and even textbooks. For some schools, these paper products can make up over 40% of their waste.
Recycling and Education staff from the DWSWA, Michael Foxx and Liz Swafford, visited the school council on Jan. 19 to discuss taking their program to the next level. They provided additional information for educational resources, mini-posters, and the infrastructure needed to begin a recycling program for plastic bottles. With the addition of plastics, the school’s recycling rate will continue to rise making Pleasant Grove Elementary one of the local leaders in school recycling.
Currently all public schools in the City of Dalton School District and the Whitfield County School District participate in the Target Recycling Program. For more information, call Liz Swafford, Recycling and Education Program Coordinator for DWSWA, at 706 278-5001 or e-mail her at lswafford@dwswa.org.
) Photo by Eric Beavers with Whitfield County Schools Each classroom has a designated bin to collect paper. From left, Pleasant Grove Elementary School fifth-graders Aubrey Young and Tricia Garcia place paper in the classroom bin. |
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