Recently, LMC “wrapped up” its first-ever Candy Wrapper Recycling Program, collecting over 60 pounds of candy wrappers thanks to participants on campus and in Palm Beach County school classrooms. The program was created to help reduce waste during Halloween.
LMC placed TerraCycle bins on campus in order to collect the wrappers. TerraCycle, a private recycling company, creates consumer products out of nearly any piece of waste. This means that instead of throwing the wrappers away, they will be re-purposed into school supplies.
Samantha Marx teaches second grade at Timber Trace Elementary School in Palm Beach Gardens, and this year was the first time the school was part of the Candy Wrapper Recycling Program.
“We have a paper recycling program on campus through Waste Management, and some classes have the yellow bins that hold plastic,” said Marx. “But this is the first time we have done it with our group of gifted kids.”
As word spread at Timber Trace via newsletters and flyers, students and parents became excited to get involved.
“Once I went out and brought back the buckets, that’s when my [class] really got excited,” said Marx. “And the parents were very responsive to it.”
Marx credits the positive response to the fact that many students have visited LMC and already recognize the importance of ocean conservation.
“I think being part of this program is extremely beneficial because it gets the children to think about others,” said Marx. “It’s a local issue, and they can make a connection between recycling and marine life. Plus, it’s really neat that the wrappers will become school supplies. A lot of the [students] made it personal and special to them that they are helping a local organization, especially the endangered sea turtles they’ve seen up close.”
LMC volunteer Sue Thompson also worked to bring the program to The Pine School, where her son is enrolled. The school created a candy wrapper collection contest for blue and gold points – the colors of The Pine School and field day teams.
LMC is grateful to all participants who helped us reduce this waste in order to keep our campus, neighborhoods and ocean clean and beautiful. We encourage everyone to keep up the great work!