Embracing ‘upcycling’
Students collect non-recyclable waste
Students and staff at
Crossland Public School kicked off their Terracycle Upcycle Program
where items such as juice boxes were sent to a company that turns them
into school items, like bags and pencil cases..
Kara Godkin and the rest of the
school’s Re-club have been busy promoting the program in the school.
Staff Photo/Mike Barrett
York Region schools are beginning to embrace upcycling.
While
many students have already jumped aboard the blue box and green bin
recycling programs within their schools, some are taking the opportunity
to take the next step.
So far, five elementary schools across the
region have signed up for a new program offered by Terracycle Inc. to
divert more waste from local landfills.
The program allows
participants to collect non-recyclable waste, such as food wrappers,
ship the items to the company free of charge and receive two cents per
item, he said.
The company reuses the trash to create products such
as totes, pencil cases, back packs, umbrellas and flower pots to be sold
at large retail stores. Products won’t be available in stores for about
a year as the company must collect the material before production can
begin.
By participating in the program, students and teachers may
come up their own ideas to reuse waste in the classroom. For those who
want to start their own project, the company is offering teaching kits
that guide participants through the process.
The program began in the
United States, where more than 30,000 schools are participating.
The
upcycle program has been sponsored and brought to Canada by food
manufacturer Kraft, he explained, noting, in six weeks, 200 Canadian
schools have signed up for the program. The goal is to have more than
5,000 registered in the next six months.
Not only does the program
enrich the environmental efforts of students, it also allows large
companies to take responsibility for their products and the packaging by
giving consumers an option if the wrapping cannot be put in the blue
bin.
Newmarket’s Crossland Public School was introduced to the idea
by an interested parent volunteer who is also on school council,
principal Tim Dunn said.
The school held a kickoff assembly recently
to inform students the school will collect Juice Jammer packaging for
the program.
Although each package will fetch the school a return,
students will be more interested in doing their part to divert the
non-recyclable packaging from the landfill, he added.
The school
isn’t new to taking on environmental challenges. Its eco club meets
regularly to plan classroom presentations and pick up recycling bins
within the school, which is also one of many in the region participating
in phase one of the implementation of the green bin program.
Markham’s
Mount Joy Public School will add the program to its long list of
environmental initiatives, including the collection of batteries to be
disposed of at the hazardous waste depot, sending photocopy toner
cartridges to be refilled and the Vermi Bin program, where worms digest
food scraps from waste, creating soil to be used in gardens on school
grounds, principal Mary Jane Tarrie said.
Students should be educated
about the environment because they become powerful advocates, she said,
noting students learn through these programs, return home and teach
their family members.
Schools, organizations and businesses can sign
up or find out more about the program at terracycle.net
