wambob9945
Registered: December 2009
City/Town/Province: Austin
Posts: 1
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Introduction
My project was to recycle plastic bottles around my school (Austin Area). I, along with the help of my advisor, Mrs. Brewer and the Austin Sewer Plant made this possible. My goal was to reduce the number of plastic bottles being thrown away and recycle them so they can be reused. This project benefits everyone. By recycling plastic bottles we are saving the earth.
Purpose
I chose to do this project because there is no need to waste anything, and this was something I could do to help. With all the environmental problems going on, like global warming, recycling plastic bottles was an easy was to reduce pollution by not having to make new plastic.
Setting
Most of the time put into this project took place inside of our school. There was a small amount of driving and unloading the bottles are the recycling center. The Austin Sewer Plant was a great help by taking the bottles and sending them off to be recycled elsewhere. Also, I had help from some peers who helped me collect bottles; Erica, Tracy, Jim, Ike, Billy, and Tim. The school used to recycle cans, but since we don’t have can pop machines anymore, there was no need for them anymore. When we got the new drink machines that were only plastic bottles, it would’ve been a huge waste to just throw away the bottles when they could’ve been reused to make new bottles.
Process
I chose this project, because it makes me feel good when I’m doing my part to help others and because this project has a positive affect on everyone. When others see the green bins, they know that they are helping the environment and may even try to do so at home. For example, I had some teachers approach me and ask if they could bring bottles from home, and of course I said “yes”.
I was contacted by Patricia Vathis from the Dept. of Education about putting recycling bin in our school, and she ordered 30 green recycling bins. On Sept. 4, 2008, I dispensed the bins around the school to classrooms, the gym, the lobby, and the teachers lounge. I made signs and put them around the school and above each container, and the school provided me with big, black trash bags to use.
Every week, or every other week, depending on how full the bins got, I would go around and empty the bins. While emptying them, I had to dump out all the liquid left in the bottles and also remove the lids. I would bag up the bottles, and on either Thursday night or Friday morning, I would take them down to the recycling center where I would unload them. I finished my project on June 5, 2009.
I also made a recycling pamphlet which included all types of things to recycle, not just plastic bottles. I distributed this pamphlet all around the school to teachers and children (Pre-K through 12).
Conclusion
The project turned out better than I expected. I never would have guessed that I would have gotten that much support from everyone, and that many bottles. I averaged 3.2 garbage bags of bottles every 2 weeks and had a total of 51.5 bags. I spent 70.5 hours on this project. This was a great project because it benefited everyone and educated each person on the need to recycle.
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