Last year the East Cobber featured an article about Debunking Recycling Myths. This year the East Cobb County Council (ECCC) of PTA’s has an opportunity to discuss recycling myths specific to our schools.
POP-QUIZ! True or False?
- It would cost our schools money to recycle. FALSE
All schools in Cobb County have recycling dumpsters on campus. These are included in the Sanitation & Recycling Program managed by Cobb County School District.
- Schools can only recycle paper. FALSE
School recycling works exactly as home recycling. Schools can collect paper, cardboard aluminum, tin and plastic 1 & 2 and put in the recycling dumpster.
3. It would be a lot more work to collect recycling. FALSE
Recycling in schools does not create more waste, it’s the exact same amount of material. It’s simply that non-recyclable materials go to the trash dumpster (or compactor) while recyclable materials go to the recycling dumpster (located right next to the trash dumpster).
The Environmental Education Committee for the ECCC of PTA’s is committed to helping all of the 35 schools in our council launch, review or enhance their recycling program.
A few schools getting A’s in recycling.
Sope Creek Elementary School hosted a drive for non-working holiday lights and collected 90lbs!! They delivered to ABC Recycling where they received a small amount for per pound.
East Side Elementary School, in addition to classroom recycling, collects snack packages (chips, goldfish, etc.) through a program with TerraCycle. The Green Team collects on Friday mornings and have diverted 146lbs of wrappers from this landfill this school year alone!
Mount View Elementary School has collected 5300lbs of mixed recycling (that’s 1800 gallons of gasoline avoided, which is like removing 3 ½ cars from the road for a year!).
Hightower Trail Middle School has a clothes & shoes col lection bin that keeps these materials out of the landfill and serves as an ongoing fundraiser equaling hundreds of dollars.
Is your school recycling? If not, reach out to the ECCC of PTA’s for ideas and advice on how to get started.
If you are recycling but would like to up your game here are a few resources and events:
My Green Earth, Inc (www.mygreenearth.org) has a Classroom Recycling Impact Tracker that will help you under stand how many pounds you are saving from the landfill.
Keep Cobb Beautiful (www.cobbcounty.org/keep-cobb-beautiful/programs/educational-programs) has various environmental presentations that teachers/administration can request to schedule at their school.
Recycling Roundtable. Friday, April 26th @ 11am – Unity North Atlanta Church. Interactive and informative panel of local experts from across the county to provide you with the latest information on recycling best practices, and answer all of your questions about the recycling process. Space limited so please register in advance, www.mygreenearth.org/events.
ECCC PTA School of Information. Wednesday, May 8th @ 9am – Location TBD. The Environmental Education Committee will have a breakout session focusing on classroom and school-wide recycling, butterfly gardens, hard-to-recycle collects and more. Email environmentaled@ecccpta.org for more info.
Jamey Moran is Cheers to Recycling, founder and helps educate young people in the area as the Environmental Education Committee (EEC) Chair for East Side Elementary PTA. She is also the EEC Chair for the East Cobb County Council PTA. Morna is also Board Member for the local nonprofit My Green Earth (www.mygreenearth.org). According to their website, they are “on a mission to make Cobb County the #1 most sustainable county in all of Georgia.”
Article Written by By Jamey Moran
