Suburban Chicago students react to CBS 2 report on a special school recycling program
CHICAGO (CBS) — An update on a story CBS 2 reported a few weeks ago
Fifth graders in South Elgin who are making a difference when it comes to their environment.
It started with recycling plastic bags from snack time but is now a full-school initiative.
The kids at Corron Elementary School have put together a recycling program to keep about 100 pounds of plastic from reaching landfills each week.
Their teacher, Erick Robinson, partnered with a company called Trex to recycle plastic and create plastic lumber.
The collected plastic becomes recycled plastic lumber, made into useful items such as coat racks and benches.
A bench made from the plastic the youngsters had collected is now on display right in Mr. Robinson's classroom.
"When that bench showed up, and those kids saw what their plastic had made, they were over the moon," Robinson said.
So far this school year, this class has collected more than 1,200 pounds of plastic. Some are from school, but the kids bring most from home – from friends, family, and neighbors.
CBS 2's Tara Molina and photojournalist Deandre Taylor received 22 of the sweetest thank you letters from the fifth graders in Mr. Robinson's class.
Reece wrote, "I was so excited to be on the news, knowing that lots of people saw what we are doing for the earth."
One from a student named Lydia said, "You guys made everyone's day! We were so excited to see ourselves on TV."
She also had some advice for Deandre: "I'm pretty sure you love being a cameraman because you're so good at it, but you're young enough to be drafted to the NFL. So, just think about it."
Mr. Robinson said seeing their hard work on CBS 2 News lets his students know that even though they are kids, they can still do big things.
We couldn't agree more!