Yukon Students Compete to Recycle, Save Planet

For kids at Ranchwood Elementary, every day has been Earth Day this April, whether they've been cleaning up the park near school or ditching bus rides for a more eco-friendly form of transportation.

Wednesday, April 22nd 2009, 6:19 pm

By: News 9


By Melissa Maynarich, NEWS 9

YUKON, Oklahoma - Elementary school students in Yukon spent the last month learning about recycling.

For kids at Ranchwood Elementary, every day has been Earth Day this April, whether they've been cleaning up the park near school or ditching bus rides for a more eco-friendly form of transportation.

"It's all about education and letting them know that they need to be aware of their environment," said parent volunteer Roberta Moore.

The challenge lasted for 21 days, with the kids thinking more about their lifestyles when it comes to waste.

"After we finished a bottle or two, we would put them in a corner or something or in a bag," said 4th grader Harper Mussselman.

Students collected pieces of plastic. Anything with a recycling symbol on it, that has a one or two in the middle.

"1 and 2's are your most common, easier to recycle, less harsh on the environment when they are recycled," said  Moore.

That includes water bottles, milk jugs and detergent containers. Grocery and trash bags are included in those levels of plastics too.

"I've got stuff from my two grandmas, and we've been recycling for the past two months, so we had a lot," said 4th grader Tyler Thomason.

"All of a sudden the recycling started coming in, and we had no room to put it. We brought a trailer in. We have parents that are taking it home and putting it in their garage," Ranchwood Elementary School Principal Kristin Kilpatrick said.

More than 20,000 pieces later, and these students are ready to take it all to the recycling center, now that they say they've learned an important lesson.

"Saving the earth, earth is what we live on. And we can't live on earth if we don't take part in it," said Tyler Thomason.

The fourth grade won the challenge. They ended up collecting 4,500 pieces of plastic, more than any other grade level, and they won a pizza party.

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