You might expect kids to “cheer” on the last day of school. But when LeMoyne Elementary School students found out they'd won a recycling competition from Onondaga County Resource Recovery Agency, they had another reason to smile.
The district-wide competition for the Mastri Excellence Recycling Award judged waste management efficiency among students and staff. Kids at LeMoyne Elementary embraced a sustainable outlook, according to OCRRA's Executive Director Mark Donnelly.
“This school put together a program to recycle, which we helped them do," said Donnelly. "But they took it to heart and took the very core values of saving the environment a little bit each day and implemented them into all the school activities.”
He cites several ways in which LeMoyne Elementary faculty and staff reduce paper consumption:
- Taking attendance electronically
- Copying and printing on both sides of a sheet of paper
- Making copies on scrap paper
- Voluntarily purchasing green products, such as tissues and towels made with recycled materials
The award is named after Dr. Vonnell Mastri, an early pioneer in the local environmental movement, and an educator at Onondaga County Community College. The City of Syracuse also appointed her to the OCRRA board of directors at the time of her death.