Welcome back, bottles

Marisa O’Neil

Some people see the bottle as half-empty, others as half-full.

Newport Elementary School sixth-grader Samantha Smith sees it as a

way to help out her school and the environment.

The 11-year-old student body president started a movement on

campus last semester to collect and recycle plastic water bottles and

glass juice bottles. So far, the student council has raised about

$400 and given 15,000 bottles a new lease on life.

“I thought it was such a waste putting all those bottles in a

landfill and not recycling them,” Samantha said. “Everyone drinks

water at school, and I saw a bunch of bottles in the trashcans and

thought we should recycle them.”

Her idea came after spending the summer with her parents in

France, where people are required by law to separate their trash for

recycling. When she came back, she decided to make recycling her main

campaign platform.

“Just in one week, we were getting a lot of kids bringing in water

bottles, getting them at soccer games and having their parents

collect them at the gym.”

Now, each classroom has a bin for students to deposit their

bottles, and student council members collect, sort and empty the

bottles during recess. Samantha’s 6-year-old sister, Sophie, also

helps out as the representative for lower grades.

Newport Elementary School students who went to a surfing contest

at 56th Street last weekend even collected empty bottles from

beachgoers to bring back to the school.

“It’s great because it’s been totally driven by the students,”

Principal Denise Knutsen said. “And they use their recess to count

them. That’s big, to give up your recess.”

Because the state raised its redemption value and because the

students sort and clean the bottles, they now get paid more for each

pound of bottles that they bring to the Orange Coast College

recycling facility.

“We’ve done a lot of programs with schools, but on our part, it’s

more giving back to the community,” OCC recycling coordinator Michael

Carey said. “Sometimes, the bottles are not separated or not clean

and it’s a lot of work for us. [Newport Elementary] is a joy to work

with because there’s zero handling. They really take the extra effort

to do it right and get a better rate.”

The council plans to use the money they raise to help refurbish

the school’s theater and to hire a disc jockey for a Jog-a-thon on

Feb. 27. They are also organizing a contest to let students design a

logo for the recycling program.

And they’ve got their principal well-trained.

“Now, when I go to my principals’ meetings, I bring bottles back,”

Knutsen said.

* MARISA O’NEIL covers education. She may be reached at (949)

574-4268 or by e-mail at [email protected].