3rd grader starts school’s recycling program

  • Published
  • By 2nd Lt. Lisa Meiman
  • 90th Space Wing Public Affairs
F.E. Warren AFB, Wyo. --  A boy wheels out two large, blue bags on a dolly that is nearly as tall as he is. When he reaches the dumpsters outside the gymnasium at Freedom Elementary in Cheyenne, he lugs the bags and drags them to the curb. 

Each bag, some weighing 47 pounds or more, holds paper products, and without the efforts of this 9 year old, all of it would have ended up in a landfill. 

A third grader at Freedom Elementary started the school's only recycling program in early March in an effort to save endangered animals. 

"Me and my mom read a book on animals that were endangered because their homes are being cut down ... and I want to help because I like animals," said Dylan Garcie, son of Tech. Sgt. Sean Garcie, 90th Ground Combat Training Squadron. So Dylan created the school's recycling program. 

Some of Dylan's favorite animals include the spitting cobra, the endangered Siberian tiger and the silverback gorilla. 

Every Wednesday, Dylan collects all the paper from the recycling bins in the school and puts it in large, blue and green recycling bags to be weighed. Weighing the recycled paper helps Dylan keep track of trends. 

"We thought that if we started weighing, we could tell all the kids how much they saved. It would be an incentive to keep recycling," said Erin OConnor-Garcie, his mother. 

Every other week, Dylan puts the bags by the dumpsters to be picked up by Magic City, a local recycling center. 

The recycled products include newspapers, books, magazines, cardboard and printer paper. Other products such as paint, paper mache and used tissues are not recyclable. 

Dylan began the program earlier this year by placing printer paper boxes next to trash cans with a sign on them to tell fellow students they were for recycled paper products. All classrooms, two copy rooms and the library received the recycling boxes. Afterwards, Dylan spoke to all the classes about his program, and Mrs. OConnor-Garcie wrote to the teachers. Dylan collected his first load of recycled paper March 3. 

Dylan said he only collected two bags the first week, but now he's up to more than nine bags. However, Dylan said there is also room for improvement. 

"I want to get real recycling bins, like plastic ones, because the paper ones are falling apart," Dylan said. 

Dylan would need to raise between $200 and $250 to have plastic recycling bins, like the blue ones at Warren, in every classroom and office in the school. 

The Laramie County School District also does not have a contracted recycling program. Some parents from these schools drive to recycling centers in Cheyenne to drop off their recyclables. 

Mrs. OConnor-Garcie said she believes there are three reasons people don't recycle: It's not a top priority, it costs money, and it's not made easy for people. 

"You have to get people in the habit," she said. "Maybe [the program] will give people the incentive to help out a little more." 

According to http://www.townsend.ma.us, Americans use more than 67 million tons of paper per year. Dylan Garcie is attempting to cut down that number, one bag at a time.