Recycling project helps reduce carbon footprint in honor of Earth Day

Congratulations to the MIS fifth-grade class for recycling the most empty plastic bottles to dominate the 'Bin It to Win It' Recycling Competition. In just eight school days leading up to Earth Day this weekend, MIS fifth-grade students recycled approximately 380 gallons of empty plastic bottles, equating to 2.25 cubic yards of recycled material. It weighed approximately 200 pounds, according to the City of UP Sanitation Department.
 
Collectively, MIS/HPMS students participating in the competition recycled empty plastic bottles that total nearly 1,000 gallons. The final collection numbers by grade totaled 933 gallons and filled 29 blue recycling cans. Grade level numbers are:
  • fifth grade - 380 gallons
  • sixth grade - 220 gallons
  • seventh grade - 175 gallons
  • eighth grade - 158 gallons
The competition was a collaborative effort that included Highland Park High School students and the City of University Park. HPHS students in the Environmental Architecture MAPS program designed the recycling campaign's creative elements. The high school students also conducted on-campus visits at MIS/HPMS to reinforce campaign messaging from a peer-to-peer perspective.
 
The City of University Park Sanitation Department was also an integral partner in ensuring that the plastic bottles will be properly recycled at Republic Services in Plano, the company that the City of UP works with for its recycling needs.
 
The campaign's goal was to raise awareness of the importance of protecting the environment to ensure students know that a recycling program exists at the school and in the City. The campaign also focused on helping students develop everyday habits of recycling plastic properly to help combat plastic pollution in our environment.
 
HPMS’s talented James Jenkins, who teaches the broadcast journalism program and oversees the student production of Raider Media News Network, will take some of his students to Republic Services in mid-May to capture the recycling process in action. Watch the Raide News Media story about the "Bin it to Win it" campaign here.
 
ENTER TO LEARN. GO FORTH TO SERVE.