Three schools are awarded for wiping out waste

Sterling Paideia Elementary, Community House Middle and North Mecklenburg High schools were honored June 4 at the Mecklenburg County Solid Waste Department awards luncheon. The county began a recycling program at CMS more than 10 years ago to reduce waste in public schools. The three schools were recognized for their innovative approaches to waste disposal, waste reduction and commitment to recycling.

Each school received a certificate of appreciation framed in recycled bicycle tires and a $500 shopping spree to a store of their choice to buy supplies for their recycling program. Mecklenburg County Board of Commissioners chair Jennifer Roberts and county manager Harry Jones handed out the awards during the ceremony.

Sterling Paideia Elementary School

Education and outreach are keys to Sterling’s success. Bulletin boards and newsletters incorporating reduce, reuse and recycle themes are a few examples of their campaign. For the past 10 years, students have recycled newspapers with the Newspapers in Education program at “The Charlotte Observer.” The school’s safety patrol rewards students for staying after school to collect trash and sort materials that can be recycled.  Recycling collection is also part of its community service project that ties in with the Paideia magnet program. Top recycling classrooms receive awards (banner, ribbon and recess equipment) from the safety patrol team for their continued efforts to consistently put all paper waste in their recycle bin. The cafeteria also recycles cans and plastics (1,800 pounds since September) as part of their program.

Community House Middle School

The band director decided to put his students in charge of recycling when the school opened with 700 students three years ago. In the second year, paper recycling totals grew due to a larger student body and even more interest from staff. The middle school has a very supportive custodial team who started recycling cans and bottles during lunch. The cafeteria staff jumped on board too by cleaning and recycling the large institutional cans, plastic bottles and jars they use to prepare food. Now with 1,100 students, their recycling numbers keep growing. The school’s three bands as well as student volunteers collect from the recycling bins twice a week. This year, 5,825 pounds of cans and bottles, and 27 tons of paper were recycled.

North Mecklenburg High School

Overflowing recycling containers are just one of the signs of success for Viva Verde (Spanish for Live Green), the environmental club that brought recycling containers for cans and bottles to North Meck. The school recycles its paper products, as all schools in CMS are supposed to do. But cans and bottles were not getting recycled for more than a year. North Meck’s Viva Verde is part of a wide-ranging environmental effort created by seniors Jill Hunt, Bennett Wyker and Daniel Duni. As a project for marketing class, the three devised a plan to raise community consciousness about the environment. Their plan has three parts ------ service, advertising and campaign events ---- and they’ve achieved plenty on all three fronts. Viva Verde has organized and sponsored numerous environmental initiatives on campus to promote recycling awareness: a Viva Verde Fashion Show where all clothing was made from organic fabrics or was a recycled item and local business leaders have made presentations about how their businesses are “green.”