Indiana Ag Connection - Keep America Beautiful Crowns Recycle-Bowl Champ

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Keep America Beautiful Crowns Recycle-Bowl Champ
Indiana Ag Connection - 03/27/2017

Bon Air Elementary School of Kokomo, Ind., was crowned as the national champion of Keep America Beautiful's Recycle-Bowl, the national recycling competition for elementary-, middle- and high-school students, teachers and school communities.

Competing against nearly 1,300 schools spanning 47 states and the District of Columbia, Bon Air Elementary students recycled 48.7 pounds of materials per student and teacher during the competition. The kindergarten through fifth grade school is being awarded a recycled content plastic park bench, courtesy of Trex, and $1,000 worth of recycling bins from Busch Systems. The Recycle-Bowl competition took place over four weeks in the fall, culminating on America Recycles Day.

"We are so proud of Bon Air Elementary for exemplifying the mission of Recycle-Bowl," said Brenda Pulley, senior vice president/recycling, Keep America Beautiful. "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. Congratulations to Bon Air Elementary and all of our Recycle-Bowl statewide winners."

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.

"Kokomo School Corporation officials from the Bon Air Technology Academies are delighted to be selected for awards at both the state and national levels in the Keep America Beautiful recycling competition," said Lyndsi Smith, assistant principal, Technology Academy at Bon Air Elementary. "Bon Air schools and our community are committed to help protect our environment and participating in the Keep America Beautiful program is another way our students, staff, and families can make a difference. Thank you, Keep America Beautiful, for allowing the Bon Air schools community to help the world!"

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.

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