DEARBORN-
Students of Bryant Middle and Long elementary schools are taking part in an experimental
education project called Dearborn Education and Action on Recycling, which is
sponsored by the City of Dearborn, Dearborn Public Schools, Recycle Ann Arbor
and The Ecology Center.

The pilot program was first proposed by Mayor
John O’Reilly Jr. and funded by approval from the Dearborn City Council. It
approved the inclusive training and curriculum, recycling carts and recyclables
collection at four schools.

The recycling program started in May at Bryant
and Long, but plans to expand to Salina Elementary and Salina Intermediate in
the fall.

The city hopes to increase recycling rates now
and in the future by educating both children and parents on its importance.

The mayor John O’Reilly and Dearborn Public
Schools Supt. Glenn Maleyko met with the students partaking in the recycling
program at Bryant in May to encourage them to take the lead and do what’s good
for the community.

“You can take the lead in our community by
encouraging your families and friends to separate recyclables and take them out
of the waste stream,” O’Reilly said. “That is good for our community and good
for our environment.”

He explained to the students how recycling saves
the city money. He said it decreases the amount of waste sent to landfills,
which lowers trash disposal costs.

Sean
Adams, a supervisor in the city’s Property Maintenance and Development Services
Department, said one of the goals of the program is to encourage families to put
only acceptable materials in recycling carts.

“When recycling carts are filled with the wrong
contents, they are considered contaminated and will not be accepted by the
materials recovery facility,” Adams said. “While
Dearborn has a long and successful history of household recycling, our curbside
collection contractor has reported that in some neighborhoods, as many as 25 to
40 percent of the green recycling carts are contaminated with improper
materials.”

Students in the pilot program collect data on
the quantity of recyclable materials they remove from the stream. They also
learn that recycling can: limit greenhouse gas emissions, create cleaner air
and water, decrease space necessary for landfills, save energy, allow
manufacturers easy access to raw materials, create new jobs and conserve
resources for future generations.

The
city and the public schools hope to start the program at additional buildings
and finally the entire district if it is is effective.