By John E Weare, Keep Alliance Beautiful
ALLIANCE, Neb. - Anticipating rain Friday, the Daytona 500 was the race on many Americans’ minds. Students from several Alliance Public Schools elementary classrooms could almost taste the pepperoni and gooey cheese as they sought their own checkered flag in the Pizza Party Recycle Race.
Keep Alliance Beautiful Education Coordinator Emma Steffy organized the contest to promote recycling and environmental awareness. Offered to K-8 Box Butte County students, only classrooms at Emerson and Grandview elementary schools in Alliance accepted the challenge.
Whichever two classrooms collect the most plastic bottles and aluminum cans between February 9 and 20 win a pizza party on KAB. The competition has been lively, at Emerson in particular, netting more than two pickup loads the first week. For example, the bags I weighed from on trip this past Thursday totaled 54 pounds for Ms. Heinz, 48 pounds for Ms. Topil, 11 lbs for Ms. Ferguson and nine pounds for Ms. Coupons. Originally, Emma counted each bottle or can before the volumes took off.
“It’s easier to see the difference (for students) when you see it in physical form. (Then) they see how we need to change,” she said. “(I hope they are) learning how important recycling is and how they can help the environment.”
Through this contest and Emma’s BlackOps program with third graders the goal is to inform and promote lasting stewardship. The message received by students can also be a catalyst for families. Hillary Hunter, property manager at Heartland Flats, decided to help her son Cullen’s class at Emerson in their quest for pizza. She’s originally from Austin, Texas and grew up recycling. Her family members are “big nature enthusiasts” who go hiking and camping in the summer. “I tell them to leave it better than they found it.”
She placed recycling containers around the property with signs saying it was for her son’s contest. “They have been filling them up faster than I can get rid of it,” she said.
KAB has sponsored similar contests before with complaints that it is unfair when materials come from outside the household. I disagree. Anyone should be able to tap family and friends or a parent’s workplace. Chances are at least some of that haul would not have been recycled and the enthusiastic spirit may convert a non-recycler or two. So far the bulk generated at Emerson alone has been amazing.
Hillary said her son has been helping bag up the recycling. He made sure his mom knew how competitive his teacher is and that “she hates losing.” She said that Cullen has gotten a lot of high fives from the tenants who have asked if “we could do this year round.” She is interested. Keep Alliance Beautiful plans to coordinate with Heartland Flats to accept and pick up recyclables.
Although KAB currently serves both Highland Park facilities and Wildflower Terrace we have not partnered with any traditional apartment building management. The closest model was community totes for public housing in Hemingford – discontinued several years ago. Pizza can open the door for more people to recycle and highlights how Keep Alliance Beautiful serves the community. Good luck to all the students as they finish the race! If only the motivation were as simple on a national scale for a cleaner, greener America.