Woodland Heights Elementary’s Green Team is back in action. Students at Woodland Heights work together with counselor Kimber Bennett to reduce, reuse, and recycle. “The Green Team is a third-grade recycling team that promotes and participates in recycling on our campus,” Bennett said. “This team starts working in second grade with strong grades and behavior patterns. They have to fill out a two-page application and seek out two teacher signatures. We meet on Fridays and collect the recycling bins from around the school.” While students in all classes at Woodland Heights may bring in recyclable materials throughout the week, the city of Brownwood brings recycling containers to the rear parking lot for community members to drop off their items to assist the Green Team’s goals. The containers are labeled for specific items and are available from Mondays at 4:00 PM until Tuesdays at 4:00 PM.
Items that can be recycled include:
- #1 Plastics – such as drained and emptied water bottles
- Cardboard and pasteboard – includes tissue boxes, file folders, cereal boxes. (Please break down and remove extra packing material.)
- Aluminum and metal cans – must be drained and emptied
- White paper and shredded paper – does not include construction paper, Astrobright papers, colored bulletin board paper, etc. Shredded paper must be bagged.
- Magazines, newspapers, workbooks
In 2008, Woodland Heights Elementary’s first-grade students Jordan Roberts and Madi Perry created the “Green Team” to recycle products. Throughout that school year, the team members collected approximately 2,000 pounds of paper and plastic. Since then, the Green Team has continued to grow, expanding its membership and its collection load. At the end of the 2023-24 school year, the team collected 126,272 pounds of recyclable material. The goal for the 2024-25 school year is 200,000 pounds. Many local businesses support with significant contributions, such as Chick-Fil-A, Sligers Market, Honey Bee Natural Foods, Kelsey Collins – Painter and Johnson Financial, Section Hand Restaurant, Reg Wagon Restaurant, Southwest Appliance and Furniture, On Point Plumbing, Depot Liquor, Diamond R Store and Café, BISD schools, and Howard Payne University. Community individuals are welcome to contribute their recyclables. “We reach to achieve beyond last year’s goal,” Bennett said. “Start saving your items!”
[Article by Sara Musgrove]