Mallett School recycling receives statewide recognition

FARMINGTON – As soon as W.G. Mallett School third-grade students Megan Baker and Emmett Trafton finished their lunches they snapped on rubber gloves and stood guard at the food scraps bin to make sure that everything thrown in was good for composting.

Instead of recess, Emmalee Clark, Allison Hodgdon and Sophia Pires, also students in teacher Alex Ernst’s third grade class, were busy collecting used paper from bins set outside each classroom. After filling large bags full of paper, they dragged them down the school’s hallways to a side door for sorting in preparation of today’s pick-up to the Sandy River Recycling Association’s facility for recycling.

“I didn’t feel any pain,” Pires said of missing recess for recycling. Then, the 8-year-old added, “This is way more fun than going out for recess.” All of the students volunteer their time to help recycle.

For these reasons and more, Mallett School was one of three schools among 21 entrants in the state to have been selected by the Maine Recycles Week Steering Committee to receive a $500 award for their excellence in recycling efforts.

For the 12th year, the state’s Planning Office has sponsored one week this year, Nov. 8 to 15, in which municipalities and schools are encouraged to celebrate their recycling efforts with activities to raise awareness of the importance of recycling, waste reduction efforts and the use of products made from recycled materials.

Three schools in the state were chosen that the committee felt met or surpassed the criteria of the school contest. Mallett, along with Bowdoinham Community School and St. John Regional Catholic School in Winslow were their top choices and will receive a $500 award to be used for science, environmental experiences or recycling projects at the school.

In part, Mallett was chosen because Ernst’s students toured the Sandy River recycling facility in Farmington and produced an educational video promoting recycling. The students also made a presentation showing the video to the Mt. Blue RSU board recently. In the classroom, they collect and recycle foil-lined juice pouches, can and bottles produced at school meals. Worm bin composting is another classroom activity.

The statewide recycles week included several poster contest winners whose work will be used in the Maine Recycles Calendar. Mallett School held their own school-wide poster contest, said Principal Tracy Williams, with winners chosen from a hat who got a chance to see the recycling facility too.

Three years ago, Ernst brought composting to the school in a cooperative effort with his third-grade students, manager of the SRRA Ron Slater and University of Maine at Farmington environmental science and education major students. The project has been a success with about two tons of food waste sent to the composting facility last year.

“What impressed us was the number of students in grades kindergarten through third grade – the whole school really – participating in some form of a recycling routine,” said Bruce White, of the state’s Waste Management and Recycling Program. “The students themselves are responsible for collecting from the recycle bins,” he added.

White said the committee loved the recycling promotion video and that there was a community-wide cooperation between Slater, UMF students and Mallett School students. In addition, Mallett students were given finished compost in the spring to help start seeds in their classrooms or add to their gardens at home.

“It all comes full cycle; it’s not just abo_ut food scraps going into a bin. They get to see how it is made into compost and used as a benefit returning to the earth,” White said.

Ernst, who was busy helping collect recyclables with his students today, said he and Principal Williams want the students to decide how the award money should be spent to aid the program.

As construction on the new Mallett School continues next door, Ernst said he would like to be able to recycle cardboard next since the new school will have more space for storing recycling materials.