The Children’s School has been crowned the South Carolina state champion of Keep America Beautiful’s Recycle-Bowl, the national recycling competition for K-12 students, teachers and school communities. Recycle-Bowl, which engaged nearly 1,300 schools spanning 47 states and the District of Columbia, took place over four weeks in the fall, culminating on America Recycles Day on Nov. 15, 2016.
Students from national champion Bon Air Elementary of Kokomo, Indiana, recycled 48.7pounds of materials per student and teacher during the competition. The school received the grand prize of a recycled content plastic park bench, courtesy of Trex, and $1,000 worth of recycling bins from Busch Systems.
“It’s encouraging to see students of all age groups and from all parts of the country get so excited about recycling both at school and at home,” said Brenda Pulley, senior vice president/recycling, Keep America Beautiful. “Congratulations to The Children’s School, our South Carolina state winner.”
More than 700,000 students and teachers participated in Recycle-Bowl, striving to recycle as much as possible. Recyclables recovered during the 2016 competition totaled 2.2 million pounds, which prevented the release of 3,150 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (MTCO2E). This reduction in greenhouse gases is equivalent to the annual emissions from 655 passenger cars.
Other 2016 national category winners are:
- Community Division: Keres Children’s Learning Center (KCLC), Cochiti Pueblo, New Mexico
- District Division: New Haven Unified School District, Union City, CA
- Waste Reduction: George W. Whitlow Elementary School, Cumming, Georgia
- Food Scrap Collection: Pahoa High and Intermediate, Pahoa, Hawaii
- Most Improved: The Children’s School, Rock Hill, South Carolina
The list of the 2016 Recycle-Bowl division and statewide winners are on the Recycle-Bowl website, as well as descriptions of the national competition categories. All national and state Recycle-Bowl winners received a recycled-content plaque recognizing their achievements.
About Keep America Beautiful
At Keep America Beautiful, we want to ensure that beauty is our lasting signature. A leading national nonprofit, Keep America Beautiful inspires and educates people to take action every day to improve and beautify their community environment. We envision a country in which every community is a clean, green, and beautiful place to live. Established in 1953, Keep America Beautiful provides the expertise, programs and resources to help people End Littering, Improve Recycling, and Beautify America’s Communities. The organization is driven by the work and passion of more than 620 community-based Keep America Beautiful affiliates, millions of volunteers, and the support of corporate partners, municipalities, elected officials, and individuals. To donate or take action, visit kab.org. Follow us on Twitter and Instagram, like us on Facebook, or view us on YouTube.