Patrick Henry High School Students Earn Award for Recycling Program

MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA, March 27, 2009 -- The Environmental Justice Advocates of Minnesota (EJAM) will present the Patrick Henry High School Recycling Team with an annual award the organization recently established to recognize young people in the Twin Cities for exemplary work and commitment to creating a sustainable world.

For more than three years student members of the Recycling Team have quietly reduced their school’s “footprint” on the Earth, while raising consciousness of teachers and students alike about the importance and benefits of reducing consumption and waste. Michael Neumann, Executive Director of EJAM, says; “We don’t hear enough about the things young people are doing in our communities to make our world a better place. The work of the Recycling Team is setting an example we all can learn from, especially in light of our global climate crisis.”

The project is simple in design but large in its results. On a weekly basis the team of 14 students supervised by teachers Brenda Stanton, Douglas Hackett, Bill Emerson, Cecelia Avakey, and Gena White collects discarded plastic, aluminum, and paper products from school classrooms, offices, and lunch areas. The discarded products, which would otherwise become landfill, are sent to local recycling centers for processing in preparation for reuse in other products. Recycling Team members have recently noticed an increase in schoolwide participation. Roughly 100% of classroom teachers, for example, now have their classes deposit recyclable materials in bins that are left outside classrooms for pick up each week.

The award will be presented to the Recycling Team on April 17th at Patrick Henry High School. The Recycling Team will also be recognized at EJAM’s Sixth Annual Founder’s Day scheduled for Saturday 25th at the Phyllis Wheatley Community Center. EJAM has asked the Recyling Team to come up with a creative name for the award which the organization plans to give on an annual basis.