Bowie students going green
The students at Bowie Elementary are learning a lot from starting a recycling program at their school.
Kristi Copeland, the school’s counselor, said the kids are really into the program. They will use the money earned to fund service projects and give back to the community.
“Kids come in with backpacks full of paper,” Copeland said. “They have catalogs, newspapers and junk mail from home.”
There are students who are in charge of collecting the papers and filling the recycling bin, she said. Students who are members of Bowie Against Drugs are in charge of filling the bin. BAD is a club at Bowie Elementary for third and fourth grade students.
Copeland, who organized the recycling program, said it started Monday, Oct. 20. The bin was on school property for a week before it was moved to Central High Rural Fire Department, located at 3929 FM 1183. It was moved because of city code, she said.
The city agreed to let Bowie keep the bin for a week before it had to be moved. The code specifies that a container such as this must be placed on concrete and be accessible by driveway. It also must be hidden from public view.
Bowie Elementary PTO members are working with the city to try to find a way to have the bin on campus without violating the codes, Copeland said. City Manager Steve Howerton has been talking with the city code inspector about how to get this done, she said.
Originally, it would have cost the school $10,000 to have the bin on campus without violating any codes, Copeland said, but she expects that after negotiations, the number should be much lower.
Even though the bin is offsite, the kids have remained enthusiastic about recycling, Copeland said.
“Not only are we teaching kids about recycling, but also parents are getting into it,” she said. “They now have a place to dump all the recycling they’ve collected.”
The bin is owned by Abitibi Paper as part of the company’s Paper Retriever program.
“It’s great because they love recycling and want to help the schools,” she said.
The program is free and it pays organizations, benefiting both the community and environment, she said. The bin accepts newspapers, magazines, office paper, school paper, phone books and mail. The paper is then recycled into newsprint.
The bin will hold between 1,500 and 3,000 pounds of paper. The school will be paid $5 per ton up to 3.99 tons, $15 per ton for 4-7.99 tons and $20 per ton for 8 or more tons. This will be paid monthly to the school.
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