Waste Reduction Challenge!

​

All middle schools in Perry County are challenged by the Perry County Waste Reduction & Recycling Program to see who can reduce their waste the most throughout the school year, leading up to Earth Day April 22nd. Using scientific method and lab safety, each class investigates a sample of trash produced by the school building in the fall then again in the spring. They separate the materials into 3 categories: recyclable, compostable (food & liquid waste) and true trash (the waste that truly belongs in the trash). Once they draw conclusions and identify any problems, they propose solutions and create a plan to move toward solving any identified problems.  During the school year students make efforts to raise awareness and reduce wastefulness within their school building.

Compost Experiment!​

​

We work with the 4th grade doing this project.  Each student is assigned to bring in 3 trash items to contribute to the experiment; examples of all items brought in on that day are placed in the portable "compost pile"; Katrina brings in a bag of leaves, grass and weeds to layer into the pile (because that is what belongs in a compost pile along with left over fruit and vegetable scraps); because this is an EXPERIMENT all items are accepted into the pile, including glass, metal, plastic and paper items; we want to make it extra interesting and see what happens!
Everything gets recorded, then students make predictions based on what they know about decomposers and organic material; perhaps we will observe some changes of matter by spring?

We offer a worm composting project to 2nd grade.  Students construct observation columns to hold one with worms and one without, then manage the columns throughout the school year allowing students to make observations, record data and learn more about worms in vermiculture!

Express Your 3R Self Contest!

This project is sponsored by the Perry County Waste Reduction & Recycling Program to help raise awareness about WASTING LESS & RECYCLING MORE!  In commemoration of Earth Day, this project offers another opportunity to remind our community about the importance of caring for the Earth.

High School and Middle School students throughout Perry County are encouraged to participate in this annual contest.  The objective is for students to create poetry defining their point of view regarding the 3R’s- Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.  Poetry is in their language arts curriculum.  Students can cross reference their poetry content with their science teachers then put it to rap music using media technology.  It can be a great cross curriculum project!  Each 30 second performance gets submitted by an early springtime deadline; each entry gets reviewed by a conservation education judging panel working with the Perry County Waste Reduction and Recycling Program.   

Winning students get on WHIZ TV “Live at Noon”, are awarded RRR T-shirts, “Refill NOT Landfill” Nalgene Water Bottles and other special items made from recycled materials.  They also receive gift certificates donated by local businesses like New Lexington Pizza Hut and Subway!  

“We really appreciate students and teachers participating in this great outreach effort! Who better to share the waste reduction and recycling message than our insightful Perry County youth?” insists Katrina Carpenter, “these students put a lot of effort in this project and they do a great job!  In coming years, we look forward to getting every school involved in this project to share the Earth Day Every Day Message!”

Look for the student’s presentations here and on our Facebook page!