This past year has seen huge growth in the recycling occurring in the schools in the area.

Both Harbor Springs and Petoskey Public Schools have made huge strides in their recycling, with desk-side bins for office paper at all administrative desks, paper bins in all the classrooms, recycling containers for plastic water and juice bottles in the cafeterias and collection receptacles for batteries.

“While many of the schools were doing some recycling in prior years, this year we've seen a comprehensive leap to more materials, more bin locations and more curbside collection carts. Next year we'll have some great numbers to show for volumes recycled from the schools,” said Elisa Seltzer, director of Emmet County Department of Public Works.

Emmet County Department of Public Works has also worked with Chartwells, the company that provides food service for the Harbor and Petoskey schools, to set up kitchen recycling systems for plastic, tin and glass that Seltzer said have been very successful. Additionally, they’ve worked with the maintenance staff of the Petoskey and Harbor schools regarding the recycling of fluorescent light bulbs and outdated electronics.

“This year is our first piloting event recycling with the schools, providing a container for water bottle recycling at Harbor Springs Hammerhead swimming events at the pool and recycling containers for the Petoskey basketball games,” she said. “This is a program we look forward to expanding as we make more event recycling containers available.”

Seltzer said the Petoskey schools have been particularly engaged in pursuing a broad range of green practices including green cleaning. Emmet County Department of Public Works also highlighted the Mackinaw City Schools recycling efforts when their fourth-grade teacher Sally Bell won their “Recycler of the Year” award for 2007.

“Recycling in the schools is so important because our youngest generation is going to inherit the earth from us and there is no greater lesson than how to manage its resources responsibly. Recycling conserves resources, energy, water and is something that young people, with their own hands, can do to make a positive change in their own community that's also good for the planet,” Seltzer said. “They're learning every day to be good stewards of the earth, and saving money and resources and energy at the same time.”

As the educational coordinator for the Charlevoix County Recycling Committee, Michelle Rick-Biddick knows the importance of recycling.

“I have gone to the schools and given ‘Recycling with Mother Nature’ talks and demonstrations on how to make recycled paper,” she said. “I am currently helping take all of the Charlevoix County fourth-graders on a field trip and tour to the Emmet County Recycling facility (April 21, 22, 28 and 29). Each year we provide Charlevoix County area schools with our local recycling guides.”

The Charlevoix County Recycling Committee has provided the high schools in Charlevoix County with No. 1 and No. 2 recycled plastic bottle containers. These collection containers have also been available for sporting events and will be available this summer for concerts, fairs, and other community events.

Rick-Biddick said recycling in the schools is the base for motivating and encouraging today's youth to take an active part in helping the environment.

“Recycling in general should be something we automatically do each and every day. No one wants a costly landfill in their backyard, so we each need to do our part to extend the life of existing sites, and save money and energy by recycling in our own homes and businesses. It's really a no brainer,” she said. “If we want a healthy environment to live in, we each need to be actively involved.”

Rick-Biddick is pleased with the knowledge and enthusiasm she’s seen from the elementary school children when it comes to the hows and whys of recycling.

“It makes me feel very optimistic that our future generations will incorporate this into their everyday life,” she said. “If we could only reach the adults who don't want ‘to bother’ to recycle or find it ‘inconvenient’ to come to the same understanding.”

In addition to area recycling facilities, TerraCycle Inc. runs four nationwide upcycling programs for schools, community groups and nonprofits. The programs collect four materials: 20 ounce soda bottles, kid's drink pouches, yogurt containers and energy and granola bar wrappers (regardless of brand). In return, they donate several cents per piece to a school or nonprofit that the location chooses.

“These programs teach kids (a majority of the locations are schools) about recycling and reusing and empower them to make a difference in their own future,” said Michael Waas Smith, eco-publicist for TerraCycle Inc. “They also motivate schools and community groups to get involved by providing much needed funding — our biggest single locations earn a couple hundred dollars a year.”

Waas Smith said another benefit of the programs is that they rescue non-recyclable materials (such as yogurt containers and drink pouches) from filling up our nation's landfills. The materials are upcycled into affordable, eco-friendly products that anyone can afford making eco-items accessible to many more people.

Waas Smith said the programs are quick and easy to sign up for and are 100 percent free.

“When a location signs up they pick an existing charity or sign up their own (only requirement is that it is a school or a 501-c3 non profit). We then send them collection boxes with pre-paid shipping labels. So the locations never pay a cent to be a part of the program,” he said. “We already have over 6,000 locations participating and strive to sign up thousands more.”

To sign up, visit www.terracycle.net/brigades. Once a collection bag is filled, you just seal the bag and drop it off with a pre-paid label at a nearby UPS location. TerraCycle will donate $0.02 for each cookie wrapper, energy bar wrapper, yogurt container or juice pouch returned.

“The program is designed to allow our nation's schools, churches, and other organizations to help save the environment while raising money for charity or extra funds for themselves,” Waas Smith said. “Most importantly, it teaches kids about the importance and benefits of recycling.”

Marci Singer439-9348 - msinger@petoskeynews.com