For the past five years, students at Countryside Elementary School have been helping the environment by keeping recyclable materials out of landfills.
Now, those students are asking for the public’s help in bringing those recyclables back to the school.
Countryside is participating in the Colgate and ShopRite Recycled Playground Challenge through the school’s partnership with TerraCycle. Countryside is hoping to win the contest’s grand prize, a playground made of recycled materials.
In 2009, Countryside parent Kate Esaia helped to establish a relationship between Countryside Elementary School and TerraCycle, a waste collection organization specializing in recycling materials that many people typically throw away in the regular garbage.
“Everything can be recycled,” Esaia said. “Someone just has to take the time to break it down into its parts.”
Since TerraCycle started five years ago, Esaia said it has recycled more than 56,000 bar wrappers, 76,000 drink pouches, 13,000 dairy tubs, 70,000 snack bags and more. The recycled products are then made into new materials.
“They grind it up into little pellets, and then they are able to make it into the plastic decking,” Esaia said.
In return, TerraCycle pays the school for its recycling efforts. Countryside has brought in nearly $37,000 from the program.
Countryside is eligible for the playground challenge because of its participation in the Colgate Brigade, a group of schools that collects dental products such as toothbrushes, toothpaste containers and floss.
Esaia said this contest is the largest they’ve participated in for years.
“This is the biggest one they’ve had in awhile,” she said. “In 2010, they had a big trash for cash contest, and we came in second place in that.”
A good portion of the contest involved an online vote. The voting opened in mid-March and is ongoing through June 30. Users can vote once per day by visiting www.terracycle.com/en-US/colgateshopriteplayground.html. Countryside was sitting in third place as of last week.
In addition to the playground contest, the school is putting the money collected from TerraCycle to good use. Esaia said the money is going toward a mural and beautification of the school’s Butterfly Garden, being done in conjunction with the Perkins Center for the Arts.
“We’ve already met and the kids have already started doing the mural,” Esaia said. “The kids are taking turns working on the mural, and it’s going to go on the walls.”
Once the weather gets warmer, the school and other organizations from Mt. Laurel will put new plants in the garden. Esaia said they would like to put plants native to the area in and are researching which ones would work best.
“We are involving the Mt. Laurel Green Team, Perkins Center and Mt. Laurel Garden Club,” she said. “We have the area scooped out. We need to find out how they’ll do in the spot we have.”
Once the planting gets underway, the students will have a big part in helping out. Esaia hopes the students learn how much they can benefit their community through this project.
