And The Winners Are..
Contributed by Sammy Taylor
Mid Valley Recycling is pleased to announce the winners of grant offerings for local remanufacture of local recyclables. Last summer Mid Valley Recycling (MVR), with the financial help of Mat-Su Health Foundation, launched a contest in two categories, one for adults and one for youth 21 and under.
The Adult First Place winner Patrick Simpson has developed a plan for a mobile recycled plastics-to-plastic-lumber (known as RPL) facility. In a long development process and formation of his business Alaska Plastics Recovery, Simpson has already produced a prototype currently located near the Palmer Alaska State fairgrounds. Check it out on YouTube.
As Tam Boeve, director of VCRS states, one of the great aspects of this project is that it uses some types of plastic that VCRS does not collect and sell. Simpson’s facility recycles molded plastic discarded by the oil industry, plastics picked up during local beach cleanups and items like plastic toys and bottle caps none of which are currently recycled at VCRS. A great advantage of this prototype is that Simpson can move his prototype to any location in Southcentral Alaska.
When Marissa Senna entered her Adult Second Place “glass bottle to sand” grant application, all the judges were excited. Valley recyclers are always asking when and where they can recycle their glass. Currently, VCRS has no buyer for glass so it is not collected. Recyclers have to drive to Eagle River or Anchorage or consider making glass bottle walls or greenhouses to use their glass locally.
Senna proposes an alternative. She researched and found a small glass bottle crusher which, using water, can turn bottles into sand without the usual dust production. She also found a business - Meier Lake Resort - willing to house the machine and use the end product. This crusher has a small carbon footprint so is a very “green” project.
Working with Meier Lake Resort will allow her to implement a functional system for housing and operating the glass recycling program in a safe and sustainable manner, as well as create a drop-off location that is easily accessible to residents.
Since this second place prize comes from MVR donations, Mid Valley Recycling was not able to provide all the funds needed to get this project started. Senna is already looking for further funding sources to complete her work.
A group of seventh grade students from Teeland Middle School calling themselves the Banana Botz won the youth award of three thousand dollars for their Extreme Ecobrick housing proposal. The six students – Emmerson Michaud, Wesley Quimby, Cyrus Rader, Connor Rush, Ayden Shaw and Mason Szybnski – with the assistance of their parent-mentor Mary Collins Quimby, researched the feasibility of using recycled forty foot refrigerator containers (think getting meat and dairy into Alaskan supermarkets) to make affordable housing.
They researched cold weather insulation, power sourcing and even developed a floor plan. They took tours and contacted experts about green building practices. They developed ideas about powering each housing module separately through solar occupant-produced power using a stationary bike. These “Ecobrick” homes can be used individually in remote locations or stacked and arranged for urban spaces as shown in their 3-D model.
The Banana Botz will use their prize money to travel to a national Lego Robotics competition they have been invited to in Boston, MA this summer.
Looking to the future, the boys are interested in pursuing work in various engineering specialties (robotics, architectural and mechanical engineering) or medicine. In the short term the boys are looking to improve their robotics skills and qualify for the Lego Robotics World Competition during the 2023-2024 school year.
The judges like this concept and hope these young men continue developing these ideas as they grow.
MVR president Patti Fisher says these middle schoolers give her hope for the future.