Nechako Elementary Grade 5 and 6 students rethought recycling at the school and won an award for their efforts.
As part of the BC Green Games, the students of the Nechako Green Club under the guidance of teacher Lis Stannus, added recyclable plastic to the list of materials that the school was already recycling, which includes paper and cardboard.
The students formed two recycling teams, one on the ground floor and one on the first floor of the school.
The first group collects paper and plastic from upstairs and sorts it on Thursdays, while the second group collects plastic waste such as yogurt and pudding cups, yogurt drink and applesauce containers.
The students then wash what hasn’t been washed and sort the material into the correct bins in the lunchroom.
On Thursday the recycling is collected and taken to the recycling depot.
The students also taught the Kindergarten, Grade 1 and Grade 2s how to wash the containers and why it’s important to reduce the plastics they use.
The result of the project is that there has been a reduction in plastic waste that ends up in the trash.
The Green Club then produced a video which was submitted to BC Green Games, which received 147 projects from 30 school districts across the province.
The Games organizers invite elementary school teams to enter the contest.
The sponsor teacher of an elementary team will act as the team leader and will be responsible for registration, administration and project submission.
Projects can be submitted as a photo series or a short video, with an accompanying written essay.
Click here to view the Nechako Green Club video.
