Elementary students in West Philadelphia collect 43,000 plastic bottles to recycle
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — In an effort to promote environmental awareness and foster community spirit, Blankenburg Elementary School in West Philadelphia embarked on an eight-week journey focused on recycling.
The school-wide initiative challenged students to collect 10,000 plastic bottles, with the extra incentive of the classroom with the highest number getting a pizza party for their efforts. Students responded enthusiastically, collecting a staggering 43,103 bottles.
The culmination of this effort was an assembly on March 22, when students gathered to learn about the importance of recycling and eagerly awaited the announcement of the contest winners. Cheers erupted as the winning fourth-grade classroom was announced.
Mahaj Stevens, 9, said he had never seen his class come together like they did for this competition.
"People's behaviors got better and we [were] all working together to get water bottles," Stevens said. "We all wanted to win."
Semaj Jay, 10, was not only in the winning classroom, but he also collected the most bottles out of any student in the elementary school. He said he even invested some of his own money in the program.
"I saved up my money to start buying some trash bags and I started going outside and recycling," Jay said.
He even did a little dumpster diving.
"One day I was walking from school, I saw all these trash cans. I put on gloves, put my hoodie up, and started digging in it, putting my bottles [in the bags]," he said.
Jay got his own trophy, in addition to getting to share his classroom's trophy.
"I put all my effort into it and I was waiting for this day," the 10-year-old said. "Look, I feel good. I shout out to my classmates, my teachers, and all this group because we had finally got it."
That sense of community spirit warmed the heart of Jakob Kramer, Blankenburg's program coordinator who organized the project.
"I feel like getting kids to recycle – even getting adults to recycle – is a challenge," Kramer said. "But the kids bought into it. They are very competitive."
Kramer worked with other school staff to place colorful posters around the school that tracked how many bottles each classroom collected.
"So the kids would walk by the main hallway and see where the class was at, and they're like, 'Oh, 209's ahead of us! We gotta bring in some more!'" he said.
The program also boosted attendance, which has been a challenge at the school, Kramer said.
A local recycling center agreed to give Blankenburg one cent for every bottle collected. The more than $400 raised will go toward school programs, whether it's for cheerleading, behavioral programs or attendance incentives.
"It literally is coming back because they raised all this money themselves," Kramer said.
Next year, Kramer plans to bring back the program but collect a different material to recycle.