Trash Tracker creates environmental awareness at Forest Hills School

 

Trash Tracker creates environmental awareness at Forest Hills School
Sponsored by Canaport LNG, The Gaia Project Trash Tracker program empowered students to
begin recycling milk cartons and pizza boxes.

Saint John, N.B. – The Gaia Project was invited to run their Trash Tracker Program at Forest
Hills School this past Spring. Trash Tracker is a one day program that helps students conduct a
waste audit of their school’s entire waste from the previous day. Students are given the
opportunity to examine their waste impact and then discover first-hand what could have been
recycled or composted instead of put in the landfill. When the waste audit is completed, Gaia’s Program Delivery Officers discuss with students how they can improve their school’s waste footprint and then help them design a waste management plan for their school.

At Forest Hills Pamela Hawkins Grade 4 class saw an opportunity to reduce their waste by rinsing out and recycling milk cartons, something that was never done at the school before. They recently took it one step further by getting the school to recycle the pizza boxes from the lunch program.

“The Gaia Project exposed the children to how much garbage they are producing each and every
day. We found over 100 milk cartons in the trash which the children decided should begin to be recycled,” says Pamela Hawkins, Teacher at Forest Hills School. “After The Gaia Project left we begun collecting, washing and recycling all the milk cartons in the elementary school. We also began recycling the pizza boxes from the hot lunch program.”

The success of the Trash Tracker at Forest Hills School could not have been possible without the
sponsorship from Canaport LNG to run the program. A representative from Canaport LNG was present during the program and taking note of the students enthusiasm towards the program.

“We loved the Trash Trackers program! It was a great learning experience for the students, and
even for our company, to see how much waste is thrown away that could have been recycled and repurposed for something else. Education is a key component of our sponsorship priorities and this program was a perfect fit; watching the students have that light bulb moment when they realized how they can make a difference with something as small as recycling a yogurt container, instead of throwing it away, was wonderful to see. It has even helped us focus more on our own recycling initiatives at Canaport LNG! It was an excellent program; we would absolutely sponsor it again.” – Kate Shannon Canaport LNG

About The Gaia Project:
The Gaia Project is a non-profit charitable organization with the mission to empower youth to
take action on climate change! They were the 2018 winners of the Education Award at NB Power’s Energizing Efficiency Conference. The Gaia Project offers five programs throughout the
province ranging from elementary to high school. Each program features a classroom-based
project relating to energy, waste, water, transportation, and general sustainability.