The only thing that remains the same is change, so the story goes. That applies to Keep Bartow Beautiful’s School Recycling Contest, now in its 13th year. “Change is the one thing you can count on, and we have experienced it here in Bartow County on many levels,” says Sheri Henshaw, Keep Bartow Beautiful’s executive director and Bartow County’s Coordinator of Sustainable Programs.   “It reflects changes and frustrations throughout the nation and the world, as we face many future challenges.  I expect it to continue for some time. Change is inevitable, and at times healthy and necessary, even in nature.  But one thing that hasn’t changed are scientific facts and figures.  We still need to protect the planet, conserve and respect our natural resources such as clean air and water, and we still need recycling.”  Henshaw adds that recycling is not a liberal or conservative issue.  It reduces the need to constantly construct expensive landfill space by diverting items from the waste stream into productive manufacturing uses, and thus reducing processing costs for those end-users.

“There are 130 manufacturers in Georgia that rely on recycled content, according to research done by The Georgia Recycling Coalition,” says Henshaw, “and the program, dubbed Made in Georgia, continues to grow as new industries come to our state.  GRC also is tracking state recycling numbers more closely through the creation of a site for quarterly reporting of recycling numbers by both private and public recyclers.  Bartow County Solid Waste also has a healthy recycling program feeding those local manufacturing plants, and others across the state and region, thanks in large part to our school recycling programs.  Over the 15 years that local schools have been actively participating in the Keep Bartow Beautiful School Recycling Contest, we have seen elementary school students create vibrant recycling  networks within their communities just through teacher and student leadership, and staff and parent support.  Those first elementary school students are now adults, and they turn those lessons learned into good habits, and continue them on to higher education and to their jobs and homes.  There is now an expectation for recycling in most urban and surburban areas of the U.S., and extending into rural areas, including Bartow, but it needs to be constantly revived; it’s sort of like pushing the ‘REFRESH’ button on your computer when operations are sluggish and threaten to stall out,” she says.

“Due to some changes at the county level with the recycling program itself, things have been in flux for a couple of years now, and that has impacted our school programs somewhat due to the unpredictable nature of some of the changes.   The county is constructing a new landfill cell and school bus overlook area, as well as reworking the school field trip program to the recycling center, and relaunching that program next year, with improvements.  Schools have changed as well.  All these changes are not necessarily good or bad, they are trends, such as problems with glass recycling, for instance, and the move to paperless schools in another, that create changes that require adjustments.  I can see that uncertainty reflected in our current recycling numbers,” Henshaw remarked.

She added, “Education is more important than ever right now.  We have spent a lot of time in improvement of Bartow’s 12 community drop-off facilities and recycling equipment at the city and county levels.  We have addressed staffing issues and increased hours and access when possible, a trend that should continue if the economy improves.  As the primary environmental education resource in the county, I see Keep Bartow Beautiful spending more time and resources back with the schools again in 2017.  We plan to visit schools that contacted us earlier in the school year, asking for assistance to increase numbers and participation and secure recycling containers;  to upgrade and reintroduce some program materials, such as our SWAT A LITTERBUG program with Bartow County Litter Code Enforcement; and add in some other elements that help to develop those hopeful, educated, and actively engaged young environmental stewards we need here in our community for the future.”

She concluded, “Many of the schools are responding to the challenges, and their lead recycling teachers are reaching out to us with enthusiasm and great new ideas for engaging their students in STEAM-based learning (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Mathematics).  High school students are contacting us about projects and research.  Scout leaders are asking how they can get their troops more involved early in environmental education and community activism.  I am greatly encouraged by what I see happening there. Things are changing, but we will meet those challenges head-on.  These young people don’t want to fear the future, they want to actively engage, and change things for the better for everyone, not just themselves.  We need to listen and respond to their desire to get involved and be hands-on in that change.”

Here are the current recycling numbers for each school as of October 31, 2016.

ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS

Adairsville Elementary………………………….4,620 pounds

Allatoona Elementary…………………………..2,640 pounds

Cartersville Primary………………………………5,320 pounds

Cartersville Elementary…………………………2,760 pounds