Cleaning up in CMI contest
Kidz Korner ends in top 10 among schools nationally
CHICAGO — Kidz Korner, located in Channahon, was declared a winner in the Great American Can Roundup School Challenge, a national recycling contest sponsored by the Can Manufacturing Institute (CMI).
Kidz Korner recycled a total of 1,200 pounds of aluminum cans, the most of any participating school in Illinois, and earned more than $480 in recycling proceeds. The school won $1,000 from the CMI as well as another $1,000 from Rexam, a leading global aluminum beverage can maker, which teamed with Kidz Korner providing recycling boxes and aligning the school with the industry contest.
Kidz Korner bested 25 registered schools in Illinois, recycling 16.26 pounds of aluminum beverage cans per student. Kidz Korner was among the top 10 recycling schools nationwide in the contest, finishing ninth out of 790 schools.
“This was a hard won contest and I couldn’t be prouder of our students and teachers,” said Tiffany Farkas, director/principal of Kidz Korner.
“Through this competition, they raised awareness of the importance of recycling and at the same time raised a lot of money for charity.”
“This contest could not have been won without the hard work and dedication from Alex Caraynoff,” said Nancy Mose, senior supply chain analyst at Rexam.
“Alex introduced the school to the recycling contest and was the leading force in rallying the school students, local community and businesses in addition to friends and family to save their aluminum beverage cans to raise money for the Ronald McDonald House Charities.”
“I congratulate Kidz Korner for their impressive showing and setting such a strong example of the importance — and value — of recycling used beverage cans,” said Robert Budway, president of the CMI, the trade association representing can makers and their suppliers.
CMI sponsored the contest, the Great American Can Roundup School Challenge, which drew the participation of 790 schools from 50 states. Collectively, the schools recycled more than 131,183 pounds (4.5 million) aluminum beverage cans, which generated more than $100,591 in recycling proceeds. CMI awarded $1,000 to the top recycling school in each state and an addition $5,000 to the national recycling champion.
Schools were judged on a per capita basis, comparing the number of cans recycled to the number of students participating. The contest period was Nov. 15, 2011 (America Recycles Day) to April 22, 2012 (Earth Day).
Cans are the most valuable package to recycle, with American consumers earning more than $1 billion annually in recycling proceeds. It therefore is not surprising that cans are also the most recycled beverage container in the world — and by far — with a U.S. recycling rate of 58.1 percent.
The can’s significant value stems from its unique characteristic of being 100 percent recyclable back into the original package. Once placed in a recycling bin, a can could be back on a store shelf in as few as 60 days. This closed-loop recycling process has kept millions of tons of material out of landfills. Indeed, 75 percent of all aluminum ever produced is still in use.
“Metal, essentially, is a permanent resource,” said Budway. “Chances are, the metal in the soda can you’re holding now was previously used by your grandparent’s generation and will likely be used by your grandchildren’s generation. A permanent material meeting the needs of yesterday, today and tomorrow, while minimizing landfill waste and resource depletion — what can be more sustainable than that?”
The infinite recyclability of cans also makes them an energy efficient package. A can made from a recycled can requires 95 percent less energy to produce and therefore has a 95 percent lower carbon footprint than one produced from raw material.
Just one recycled can saves enough energy to run a load of laundry, and the energy saved from all cans recycled annually could power the entire city of Washington, D.C., for nearly four years.
“Cans, quite simply, are the premier sustainable solution,” said Budway. “By using cans, we are essentially using the same resource over and over, thereby reducing the need for both landfill space and new raw materials. That is the essence of sustainability.”
Visit www.cancentral.com for more information.