This week students at Mc Kim School in Kimberley participated in a Waste Field Trip led by Loree Duzcek and Lindsay Howe with the RDEK. These trips are such an eye opener for all involved. We started our trip at the Regional Landfill and students learned where our regions waste ends up. We then visited the “MRF” or the Mixed Recycling Facility and then finished our tour at the Bottle Processing Plant with Louise and her amazing staff. The Processing plant is always a highlight, as the students are actively engaged in getting work done by doing the “1,2,3,go!!!!” count down. This fun activity helps send hundreds of plastic bottles flying into tubes to be compacted for shipment. We then watched aluminum cans be compressed into “Wally” sized biscuits for easier shipping. Who knew recycling was so fun?
Both these sites truly demonstrate how much is diverted from the landfill if we take the time to recycle.
Students learned some cool facts too. Did you know that world uses 200 Billion aluminium cans in a year? That is 6,700 cans every second-enough cans to go around the planet every 17 hours!!! We also learned that by recycling paper and cardboard in the East Kootenays, we are saving thousands of trees.
Every little bit truly does make a difference.
