WACO, Texas — Reduce, reuse, recycle!
One local elementary school is championing this motto as part of Scrap University Kids' "Million Cans Recycling Program".
La Vega Elementary here in Waco has been selected as the only school representing Texas to participate in the challenge, and they're vying for the top spot.
The contest is simple: which school can recycle the most aluminum cans?
From October 2023 to May 2024, schools in select states are competing for cash prizes and awards for their schools. The challenge states one such award as $10,000 in books and prizes.
How does it work? Once the recycle bin at La Vega is full, they will contact their local recycling center—CMC Recycling—to have their cans weighed. When the contest ends in May, the school with the most recycled cans wins the contest in addition to receiving all the money from the scrap yard for what they recycled.
Aluminum is generally paid based on weight, ranging anywhere from 30 to 50 cents per pound. It takes approximately 35 cans to make one pound.
Right now, Texas is tied with two other states—Alabama and Kentucky—in rankings for average recycling rate.
La Vega said anyone can get involved and are encouraging our fellow community members to donate to put Texas at the top. The contest said people can also recycle other metal items and ask to donate the money to the school, but only aluminum cans qualify for the contest.
The contest encourages anyone wanting to donate to rinse and crush the cans before delivering them.
If you have any aluminum cans laying around, you can donate them at La Vega Elementary, or directly to CMC Recycling and ask to add the donation to the school's account.
Recycling locations:
CMC Recycling
1400 E. League St., Waco, TX
Recycling bin at La Vega Elementary foyer
3100 Wheeler St., Waco, TX
Want to learn more about the challenge? Scrap University Kids said they and Can Manufacturers Institute - Can Central (CMI) are collaborating with some of the largest can makers in the nation and it's all about improving our recycling rates.
Local schools are a big part of that challenge by connecting with scrap yards to have easy access to recycling.
And to make the contest even more fun, CMI donated over a thousand copies of Scrap University Kids' book "The Girl Who Recycled 1 Million Cans" to participating schools and 300 of those books went to the kids at La Vega Elementary.
For more information about the contest, visit Scraps University Kids' website.
