| When it comes to paper recycling, St. John's Catholic School in Ennis, Texas is at the top of the heap.
One sheet of paper at a time – and twenty tons of paper each month – St. John Catholic School has become the top recycling school in the southwestern United States.
With the 13th largest recycling program in the entire country for recycling leader AbitibiBowater, St. John's provided 269 tons of recyclable refuse to the company's state-of-the-art Arlington recycling facility.
Since the beginning of the 2007-2008 school year, two St. John's seniors have been making the recycling runs from the school and the community to the massive bins at the Sokol Hall.
Matthew Friske has donated the use of his truck and the gas for the task.
"We get all the classes' materials from their bins, we put it in the truck and we go to area business and pick up the paper and cardboard for recycling," he said.
"It's just better for the environment – and we use so much paper in school, we might as well use it over again," Friske said.
Kevin Delgado makes the recycling runs as well. Estimating that the Sokol Hall bins fill up with four tons of paper as often as every two weeks or so, he said the school feels good about their strong showing in the annual contests.
"We've taken first for the last two years – we build pride not only in our school but in the community," he said.
St. John fourth graders represented their school at a recent open house in Arlington, where they received applause from top AbitibiBowater execs for their outstanding efforts.
Recycling is widely held as the answer to growing landfill issues. As a company, AbitibiBowater saves an estimated 8.5 million cubic yards of landfill space each year in North America.
St. John's is a huge part of that platform.
"We're their largest account in the Metroplex – that says a lot of us, and it says a lot for the community for donating so much," said Marguerite Delgado, the staffer who coordinates the program.
St. John principal Chris Rebuck said the school's recycling efforts accomplish two goals.
"It educates the kids on the importance of recycling and preserving vital natural resources, and it provides a good service opportunity," he said. "There's a good connection between St. John's and the members of our community here."
Rebuck had high praise for Marguerite Delgado, the staffer who heads up the recycling program.
"She does a great job organizing it and getting teachers, parents and kids headed in the right direction," he said.
|
