This news came into the Tribune today:
Six sixth-grade students in Tempe learned the importance of recycling, composting, saving endangered plant and animal species, and cleaning up parks and forests as they took part in the Lexus Eco Challenge, an educational program and contest that inspires and empowers middle and high school students to learn about the environment and take a stand to improve it.
Tempe’s Team “The Recyclers,” from Connolly Middle School was awarded $10,000 to share between themselves and the school for their outstanding entry in the “Protecting the Land” Challenge, the first of three initial challenges. Team members are Jiwon Byun, Francesca Callicotte, Taylor Dodd, Abby Kennedy, Kendric Knorr and Dwight Wells. The win also secured the team in invitation to participate in the Final Challenge for a chance at $50,000. In all, $1 million in scholarships and grants will be awarded throughout the year.
Respecting the land by using fewer plastic bags is the issue the team focused on. In Tempe, plastic shopping bags are unable to be recycled in the recycling plants because it is not cost effective and the plastic bags get caught in the machines and stop the recycling processes. Landfills in Tempe and around the world are being filled up with this product, which can take hundreds of years to break down. According to the United Nations’ Environment Programme, “One plastic bag takes one second to manufacture, is 20 minutes in use, and takes 100-400 years to degrade naturally.” Additionally the bags are made of petroleum, which is a nonrenewable resource that causes pollution in the production process. And plastic bags are responsible for the death of thousands of animals each year who either become entangled in them, such as birds, or eat them thinking they are food, such as turtles.
According to the team’s teacher-advisor Collette Keime, “The highlight of this program for me especially was seeing the team in action giving their presentations to the older classes at our school. To see their confidence level improve as well as their ability to communicate with each other as a team was amazing to witness. I have a feeling each of these students will remember their sixth grade year like no other.
