Turning lessons in recycling into playtime
Big Beaver Elementary School students' hard work learning the right way to recycle plastic earned them a new basketball court.
Sort and separate, and don’t contaminate: That was the lesson. And students at Big Beaver Elementary School aced the recycling test. The reward for their efforts? A new basketball court.
Big Beaver Elementary School students got a big surprise to start the 2023-2024 school year. Greeting them on day one of classes was a brand-new basketball court — a first for this K-5 school located in Darlington, Pennsylvania. Even better? The new play area was a prize for their hard work learning the right way to recycle plastic.
(Real)ationships mean building community together
It all started with a $225,000 grant from Shell Polymers and a partnership with the Beaver County Department of Sustainability and Waste Management. The goal: initiate plastic recycling programs at six elementary schools located near Shell’s state-of-the-art petrochemicals complex in Monaca, Pennsylvania.
The funds paid for recycling education, recycling bins, a full-time trash separator/monitor at the local recycling plant and expanded hours at the Beaver County recycling center.
One of our goals at Shell Polymers Monaca is to help enable the circular economy by demonstrating the importance of recycling. We believe when kids can see and feel – and enjoy - the impact of their recycling efforts, they are more likely to continue on a path of sustainability.
DeAnn Baxter, Community Relations Advisor, Shell Polymers Monaca
Lunch time is lesson time
As part of the program, students studied recycling in the classroom, then put those lessons into action in the cafeteria. They sorted and separated their lunch waste and deposited plastics in the designated containers.
Most important, they rinsed and cleaned food waste off plastic products — learning how to eliminate the contamination that often results in plastics going to the landfill versus the recycling center.
Recycling gets real
At Big Beaver Elementary, students rose to the recycling challenge — gathering more than 100 bags of plastics over the course of the program. Principal Chad Thomas and his teachers were thrilled to work plastics recycling into their curriculum.
Plastics to Play program by the numbers:
$225,000 grant from Shell Polymers Monaca
6 Beaver County elementary schools participated
400+ students learned the right way to recycle plastics
100+ bags of plastics gathered by the elementary students
We’re always working on trying to better ourselves and improve the education our students are getting every year. The best part was just seeing them say, ‘Oh, I can recycle this! But I can’t recycle that, and this is why.
Chad Thomas, Principal, Big Beaver Elementary
Making the program hands-on, rather than merely a classroom lesson, made a big difference.
Plastics make it possible
Now, every time Big Beaver Elementary students step onto their new basketball court, they’ll get a reminder about recycling.
Many of our Shell Polymers employees live, work, and play in Beaver County; and together we strive to make our community better. Investing in projects that challenge students, while also showing them tangible ways their recycling efforts payoff, is a great way to positively impact the next generation.
Nate Levin, GM, Shell Polymers Monaca