Youth Recycling Contest Starts Now
Contributed by Sammy Taylor
OFFERING:
Prizes will be awarded to youth who propose the best uses for recycled materials in the Matanuska-Susitna Valley. Four prizes of $500 each will be offered to K through 4 grade-aged youth for their efforts.
Middle school and junior high aged youth (5 through 8 grades) will have a chance for a first prize of $ 2,000 or a second place prize of $ 1,000.
High school aged youth (9 through 12 grades) could be awarded a first place prize of $ 3,000 or a second place prize of $ 2,000.
BACKGROUND:
Currently, only a small portion of locally-collected recyclables stay in the Valley for remanufacturing. All newspaper and one quarter of the corrugated collected by Valley Community for Recycling Solutions (VCRS) is used locally by Thermo-kool to make insulation, hydroseed and livestock bedding. Some #1 (PETE), #2 (HDPE), #4 and #5 plastics are used to make Grizzly Wood (plastic lumber) in Palmer.
All the rest of the VCRS-collected materials are baled and shipped to U. S. facilities from Washington state to Georgia. They are used to make: carpet, fleece and sleeping bag insulation (#1); lumber and containers (#2); dishware and food containers (#5); composite wood (stretchy plastic); paperboard and paper bags (corrugated); newsprint and roofing shingle backing (mixed paper);
paper towels, toilet paper and tissue (office paper); aluminum cans (aluminum cans); car and appliance parts and steel cans (steel cans); aluminum foil (kitchen aluminum).
Valley Community for Recycling Solutions pays (on a sliding scale depending upon the value of the material) for shipping materials to the lower 48. All these costs could be converted to local jobs and benefits if all recyclables were remanufactured where they are collected.
APPLICATION:
Mid Valley Recycling, partnering with Meadow Lakes Development Corporation, Inc., with financial support from Mat-Su Health Foundation, offers these prizes to youth for their local use ideas. It pays to have an idea and run with it!
Applications are available from VCRS website, Mid Valley Recycling Facebook page and through educational agencies or by emailing taylorsammy230@gmail.com . Applications will be accepted until March 30. 2024 and winners announced May 2024.
