June 10, 2009
"GreenSylvania" School Recycling Competition Winners Announced
Three Pennsylvania schools were declared winners in their respective counties in the Professional Recycler's of Pennsylvania spring 2009 GreenSylvania recycling competition. Recycling efforts were measured on a school population per capita basis to level the playing field. Bellefonte High School emerged as the Centre County winner with 4.28 pounds of recyclables collected per person. The four competing Centre County high schools collected paper, plastic, metal and cardboard generated within the schools. Hartman Elementary School in Lawrence County, competing with four other Ellwood City elementary schools, recycled 3.70 pounds of classroom and office paper per person. Seven schools participated in Lackawanna County, where GreenSylvania was piloted in the fall of 2008. West Scranton Intermediate School bested the other schools by collecting 3.09 pounds per person of classroom and office paper. All participating schools were commended for their recycling efforts. GreenSylvania is modeled from the annual RecycleMania competition for colleges and universities. A goal of GreenSylvania is to increase the amount of recyclables diverted from school disposal streams during and after the competition. The competition offers a number of educational skills and concepts that can be interwoven with the competition such as science, math, writing and environmental stewardship. Additionally, a school’s image is enhanced as a contributor to the community’s recycling effort. Lackawanna County will conduct a county-wide GreenSylvania competition in the fall of 2009. PROP will welcome all Pennsylvania counties and schools to participate in future GreenSylvania competitions. Participating schools and GreenSylvania competition guidelines are listed at www.greensylvania.org.
Contact: Amy Schirf, Education Coordinator
Centre County Solid Waste Authority
253 Transfer Road
Bellefonte, PA 16823
(814) 238-7005
Bellefonte High School Wins Recycling Competition
It was a tough battle to the end but Bellefonte High School pulled out the victory. During the month of May, a recycling competition was held between Bald Eagle, Bellefonte, Penns Valley & Philipsburg-Osceola High Schools. This recycling competition, called “GreenSylvania”, had students and faculty recycling all of their paper, plastic, metal and cardboard at a record pace.
All four schools are to be commended for their valiant recycling efforts. In total, the schools recycled 14,520 pounds of material during the month of May. However, it was Bellefonte who came in first recycling 4,775 pounds of material (4.28 pounds per person). The other three schools were not far behind. Philipsburg-Osceola recycled 3,065 pounds (4.18 pounds per person), Penns Valley recycled 3,135 pounds (3.69 pounds per person) and Bald Eagle recycled 3,545 pounds (3.30 pounds per person).
For their outstanding recycling efforts, each school will be presented with a recycled content award plaque displaying their individual efforts. Bellefonte High, the winning school, will receive a $500.00 donation to be used towards their environmental or conservation group.
The Centre County Solid Waste Authority would like to thank all of the schools for their participation in our first ever GreenSylvania recycling competition. GreenSylvania was sponsored in part by the Professional Recyclers of Pennsylvania, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (Region III) and the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.
A picture of the Centre County Winners Bellefonte High School
