Rehoboth Elementary Green Team recycles school paper
Not many things will prompt a student to voluntarily give up recess, but to the 23 fifth-graders on the Rehoboth Elementary Green Team, saving the environment is worth the sacrifice.
Student Vincent Troise said all fifth-graders who were interested in joining the team had to apply for the job and give up one recess a month. The team is divided into groups that take turns every Friday traveling to all classrooms with a large wheeled trash can to collect recycling bins teachers have placed outside their doors.
Before dumping the papers into the can, gloved students sort through the bin and pick out any non-recyclable materials. On Jan. 13, students diverted 3.8 pounds of trash from the recycling container.
“Many times, we find water bottles, candy wrappers and a lot of plastic,” said student Daxton Napolitano.
Student Eliza Evans said she joined the team to make the community a better place, to help prevent pollution, and save turtles and other sea animals.
“One pound of waste saved equals one pound of waste out of our local waterways,” Eliza said.
DataGuard collects the paper, said fifth-grade science teacher Jacquie Kisiel, who noted the team has collected 14 large bins of recyclables so far this year, equalling nearly 1,900 pounds.
“It’s made me more aware about recycling at home, and about how much paper I’m using,” said Kisiel, who has been involved with the program since its inception in 2015.
Kisiel told students she hopes they start Green Teams in their middle schools.
Rehoboth Elementary PTO pays for the recycling program, which runs 10 months of the year and costs about $1,000, said parent volunteer Heather Napolitano. Jason Blanshine of Sylvan Learning Center purchased official Green Team T-shirts for students.
Student Sage McMahon said he likes being on the Green Team because he feels like he’s making a difference.
“Taking out the smallest bit of plastic from the recycling bin helps the environment so much,” he said. “We are the future. Global warming seems so overwhelming, so we are trying to do our part in stopping it.”
