Sir James Dunn saves the planet

A recycling program launched by the World Issues Geography class at Sir James Dunn has been so successful that the City's waste management department is proposing it be expanded to all schools in the Algoma District School Board.

The Dunn's one-month pilot project collected 984 kilograms of recyclables (the weight of a small adult black rhino) and the initiative has now been extended to the entire school year.

This is the full text of a news release issued today by the City of Sault Ste, Marie:

**************************************************************** Sir James Dunn class recycling project exceeeds expectations

(Sault Ste. Marie, ON) - When Sir James Dunn's World Issues Geography class accepted a month-long recycling challenge given to them by the Waste Management Division of the City, little did they know that it would become something they would continue to voluntarily manage long after the project was complete.

Shortly after the March break, the class was given a proposal to set up and manage a recycling project for the entire school.

"The class initiated a full-scale recycling program in every classroom and office, as well as in the cafeteria of their high school," says Randy Roy, Waste Management Supervisor.

Entirely managed and operated by students

"They organized and ran everything, including a program to encourage other students to recycle."

The geography class, headed up by teacher Jill Inch, even developed motivational competitions to encourage other students outside the class to actively participate in the program.

The class encouraged other students to collect as many pop cans as possible and bring them to the recycling depots," says Roy.

Many students who might not otherwise recycle their pop cans were participating in the program in a competitive way."

983.79 kilograms

With all the materials the students collected, City employees including Randy Roy, collected the materials from the students for recycling.

"We brought the material to the scales and weighed it, and then brought it back to the recycling facility. We wound up with 983.79 kilograms worth of recyclables," says Roy. "That is amazing."

The results of the project have been more positive than Roy or the students could have ever anticipated. Even after the one-month pilot was completed and the class report was completed, the class decided to keep the program active until the end of the school year.

"I am very impressed with their initiative. Not only did they put together an excellent report that broke down the amount of recyclables that were produced per student, but they have shown what can be done with a little planning," says Roy.

"We would love to see the entire school board take on recycling programs like the Sir James Dunn class created. They have just done an excellent job."

****************************************************************