BUFFALO, NY (WKBW) — Some Buffalo Public School students are showing how much they care for ‘Mother Earth’. School #74 Hamlim Park Academy 4th graders created their own recycling program.
You might say these Hamlin Park 4th graders carry out a lesson in civic engagement on a weekly basis.
Each week the recycling team called the Z's heads into classrooms at the school to collect all kinds of recyclable items.
They call themselves the Z's team because they are led by their 4th-grade teacher, Frank Zawodzinski, known as Mr. Z for short.
Wearing their recycling vests, about 14 of the students help collect all the materials.
“They're known as the recycling team. They're known as some of the best in the school because of the things that they do, not only just because they recycle, because of the hard work that they do every day and they make me so proud,” explained Zawodzinski.
7 News Senior Reporter Eileen Buckley followed students as they collected materials from classrooms at their school.
“What do you like about recycling?” Buckley asked. “I like it because it helps our school,” replied Ariel Roman, 4th grader.
“How do you like participating in this recycling program?” Buckley questioned. “It helps our community and is good for the environment,” responded Marques Bellmay, 4th grader.
The students were asked by another teacher if they were willing to take on recycling and they said yes after learning about the importance of cutting down the amount of garbage in landfills.
“We talked about how good it was for helping the environment and helping trash go away and make it go in the recycling bin,” Bellmay noted.
“I feel good because it helps the environment because if we don't throw out all the recycling stuff, then it will not be good for the environment,” reflected Roman.
Students recently added cardboard to their recycling pick-up duties.
“Can you come, grab some?” Zawodzinski asked students
They take this recycling project to one more level, bringing it outside to this dumpster.
“We learned about where things are going and we talk about why we're recycling cardboard — why we're recycling plastics and how long it takes for them to decompose inside of a landfill, so that is one of the big things that we've been really pushing,” described Zawodzinski.
Students also roll out all the large recycling totes right to the curb for city pickup.
Students tell me they are surprised how much material piles up each day, but they take this responsibility very seriously and are proud to help their school and protect the earth.
