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Recycling ... Re-Mining By Teresa Crerand "The Mine and the GEMS Project were catalysts from which the idea of a recycling company grew and took shape." Third graders formed a recycling business at the Delaware Valley School District in Milford, PA, which was a direct result of their teacher, Judy Fitzpatrick, participating in the GEMS Project at the Sterling Hill Mining Museum back in 1996. Fitzpatrick helped her students create a way to make a contribution toward conserving our resources and encouraged them to use the mining concept of “look for a source, and find a way to help.” Recycling aluminum cans that are discarded daily was a sort of re-mining process, said Fitzpatrick in an interview back in 2000. It replaces relying on other sources to supply bauxite and reduces our nation's need to pay more for imported bauxite. The class came to the logical conclusion that recycling a metal that was not plentiful was preferred to importing bauxite. They formed a company and named it "3-F Recycling Company." The “3” stands for 3rd grade, and “F” for Fitzpatrick. A business plan was written, and a loan of $100 from a local bank allowed the business to begin operation. All students kept their own financial records. Their first purchase was a crusher and students took turns crushing cans for an hour after school. In the beginning, help came from relatives and friends who saved aluminum cans, but the project quickly grew as local businesses began saving aluminum cans to contribute. Cans from New York State were redeemed for their 5 cents deposit and all other cans were crushed and sold to a scrap metal business for 20 cents per pound. The students designed a mascot, "Aluminum Al," which was an owl on an aluminum can. Then they created the slogan "Don't throw our future away, recycle!" They wrote and produced radio ads that aired on a local station. They designed business cards, joined the Chamber of Commerce, sponsored and hosted a business card exchange with a continental breakfast in the school cafeteria before school hours. The event was attended by representatives from the Chamber of Commerce, school officials, community business leaders, politicians, and received news media attention at the ribbon cutting ceremony. At the end of the school year, the class had earned $450 through the business in its first year. Profits were used to provide students and their families with a tour of the Sterling Hill Mining Museum, the original source that inspired creation of the business that began with Fitzpatrick's participation in the GEMS Project. "The Mine and the GEMS Project were catalysts from which the idea of a recycling company grew and took shape," stated Fitzpatrick.
During the 2001 school year, the class focused on advertising, writing letters to convince Pennsylvanians to recycle, and petitioning legislators to consider a comprehensive recycling bill. The students also proposed a brochure for distribution to Pike County residents explaining how to recycle, said Fitzpatrick. "Third grade students are incredibly clear about what is right and wrong," Fitzpatrick commented, "and they say everyone should recycle." “It was already mined once, so it was like re-mining.” In a January 7, 2007 interview, Fitzpatrick explained, students are eager and interested “any time they feel they can make a difference.” She said her students had such a wonderful time recycling cans they collected from New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania and earning money for their efforts through a business even though the project was time intensive. They recycled aluminum as re-mining, she said, adding, “It was already mined once, so it was like re-mining.” Students recycled cans for seven years, and at the end of the school year, made a class trip to Sterling Hill. Every 3 or 4 years, she suggested two summer projects to her students. When the next school year began, they reviewed them during the first two weeks of school and shared what they had learned over the summer break. Many made trips to Sterling Hill with their families. Fitzpatrick recalled they gave presentations using their own photos taken at the mine, showed items they purchased in the gift shop, and made posters showing an overview of their visit. “It’s something they don’t forget.” She explained that renovations were done at the school 4 or 5 years ago and carpet was replaced with tile flooring, so they could not continue recycling cans. She explained that it was a messy job and they could no longer chance sticky messes on classroom floors and in hallways. To continue recycling, though, they changed their focus to paper. Five-member teams now regularly collect Xerox paper from each wing of the school to continue the 3-F Recycling business. The new mascot is Professor Reece I Kel (pronounced “recycle”) made in the shape of a paper person. A local plumbing contractor, Boston Plumbing and Heating, donated t-shirts for them to print their new mascot on, and profits allowed them to purchase additional t-shirts. The school has since started looping that Fitzpatrick described as teaching the same class for two consecutive years. She now teaches them in their third and fourth grade years and finds it very rewarding as well as an opportunity to “see real growth.”
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Click Here to visit the Sterling Hill Mining Museum web site |
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