STAMFORD, Conn. (Feb. 26, 2018) – Bon Air Elementary, in Kokomo, Indiana, was crowned today as the first repeat 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 more than 1,000 schools spanning 42 states and the District of Columbia, Bon Air Elementary recycled more than 8 tons of materials during the competition. The school will be awarded a recycled content plastic park bench, courtesy of Trex, and $1,500 worth of recycling bins from Busch Systems. The Recycle-Bowl competition took place over four weeks in the fall, culminating on America Recycles Day on Nov. 15, 2017.
“We are thrilled for the students of Bon Air Elementary School 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 School and all of our Recycle-Bowl statewide winners.”
More than 550,000 students and teachers participated in Recycle-Bowl, striving to recycle as much as possible. Recyclables recovered during the 2017 competition totaled 2 million pounds, which prevented the release of 2,800 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (MTCO2E). This reduction in greenhouse gases is comparable to removing the air pollution from almost 600 passenger cars from the road.
“I am proud of how well Bon Air has performed in this competition. I hope they continue on this path even when Recycle-Bowl is over,” said Mikki Jeffers, executive director, Howard County (Indiana) Recycling District. “For Taylor Elementary to receive the most improved on recycling is wonderful. The school came back focused on raising awareness and changing people’s behavior to recycle more in the school.”
Additional 2017 Recycle-Bowl national category winners are:
- Community Division: Keres Children’s Learning Center; Cochiti Pueblo, New Mexico
- District Division: Ocean City School District; Ocean City, New Jersey
- Waste Reduction: Woodland Park Academy; Grand Blanc, Michigan
- Food Scrap Collection: Centennial Elementary; Springfield, Oregon
- Most Improved: Taylor Elementary; Kokomo, Indiana and Bell’s Hill Elementary; Waco, Texas
Thanks to their unwavering commitment and progress, Taylor Elementary and Bell’s Hill Elementary will receive $1,500 worth of recycling bins for demonstrating the most improvement in its recycling per capita rate from 2016 to 2017.
The list of the 2017 Recycle-Bowl division and statewide winners are on the Recycle-Bowl website, as well as descriptions of the national competition categories.
About Keep America Beautiful
Keep America Beautiful, the nation’s iconic community improvement nonprofit organization, inspires and educates people to take action every day to improve and beautify their community environment. Celebrating its 65th Anniversary in 2018, Keep America Beautiful strives to End Littering, Improve Recycling and Beautify America’s Communities. We believe everyone has a right to live in a clean, green and beautiful community, and shares a responsibility to contribute to that vision.
Behavior change – steeped in education, research and behavioral science – is the cornerstone of Keep America Beautiful. We empower generations of community and environmental stewards with volunteer programs, hands-on experiences, educational curricula, practical advice and other resources. The organization is driven by the work and passion of more than 600 Keep America Beautiful affiliates, millions of volunteers, and the collaborative support of corporate partners, social and civic service organizations, academia, municipalities, elected officials, and individuals. Join us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube. Donate and take action at kab.org.
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