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GRANTSVILLE -- Pleasant Hill Elementary School in Calhoun County was honored Thursday by the Recycling Coalition of West Virginia as a recycling champion.
The coalition makes these awards possible in collaboration with the state's 50 solid waste authorities. Recycling champions reach beyond their normal responsibilities to contribute time and service to support the recycling industry in the Mountain State, officials said.
These recycling champions provide recycling leadership across the state and make a significant contribution to the recycling community, officials said.
Students at Pleasant Hill Elementary in Grantsville make recycling happen at their school. The program has inspired the children's interest in recycling by having them help sort items collected and by flattening boxes, officials said.
Students bring in recyclables and use them in different ways like making an igloo out of plastic one-gallon milk jugs or turning ice cream pails into Easter baskets.
For many years, parents and students collected a variety of material for recycling, including paper, Nos. 1 and 2 plastic and cardboard, which was then transported to the Calhoun County recycling center.
When Cabot Recycling Station discontinued its weekly pickup from Pleasant Hill late last year, the students and faculty continued to collect and store recyclables until a solution was found, officials said.
Thanks to help from board member/teacher Amanda Morris and the staff and students, the school found a way to transport recyclables and continue recycling. A local bus driver, Barry Miller, volunteers his time to pick up recyclables and deliver the material to Cabot Recycling Station.
Kim Solomon at the Cabot Recycling Station also helps process the material. The children are learning the importance of recycling and the direct impact it has on the amount of trash being generated, officials said.
The board of directors at the Calhoun County Solid Waste Authority, in coordination with the Recycling Coalition of WV Inc., presented a 2018 Recycling Champion Award to Pleasant Hill Elementary on Thursday at the school.
The Recycling Coalition of West Virginia is a non-profit environmental organization whose mission is to promote the effective and sustainable reduction, reuse and recycling of materials otherwise destined for disposal.
The Recycling Coalition pursues these goals through the promotion of purchasing products made with recycled content material; by coordinating and facilitating activities relative to recycling; and by fostering communication among organizations, government agencies and individuals through the sharing of ideas and resources.