Recycle Mania 2011 School Winners

Yesterday [Jan.16] Minister of Public Works Michael Weeks presented Port Royal Primary with a $500 prize for winning the Recycle Mania Schools’ Aluminium Can Drive Contest & Curb Side Contest, while Junior Minister of Public Works Senator Vince Ingham presented a check to Middle School winners Mount St. Agnes.

Recycle Mania was created to promote awareness of Bermuda’s expanding recycling programmes and to reward those who recycle.

21,484 aluminium cans were collected in just 1 week by 2,814 students representing the 19 schools which participated in the Schools Aluminium Can Drive Contest. Weighing in at 616 lbs. all the aluminium recycled by Bermuda’s schools equates to energy savings of 328 gallons of oil, or enough energy to run a television set for 64,452 hours or 7 years and 4 months.

Winning schools from the Primary and Middle School sectors received a $500 cash prize from the Ministry. In the Primary School category Port Royal Primary beat the competition with an average of 27.1 cans per student. The Middle School winner was Mount St. Agnes grades 6-8 with 5.1.

Through recycling, used materials such as tin and aluminium are converted into new products comprised of exactly the same material. Aluminium is a sustainable metal and can be recycled repeatedly. 1 lb of recycled aluminium generates 35 new cans. In contrast, 4 to 5 tonnes of bauxite or aluminium ore are needed to produce 2 tonnes of alumina, from which 1 tonne of aluminium is produced. Overall, using recycled materials in the manufacturing process uses considerably less energy and creates far less harmful waste than producing new products from raw materials.

Minister Weeks said: “I am very encouraged by the amount of cans collected by students across the island. This just goes to show how much can be recycled and kept out of the waste stream at the Tynes bay waste to energy facility. Hopefully these students will embrace what they have learned and encourage their friends and family to do the same and reduce, reuse and recycle.”

#AwardWinners #BermudaGovernment #BermudianChildren #MountSaintAgnesAcademy

Category: All, Environment