Call it a green sweep: CMS schools took the top four places in Harris Teeter’s “We Think Green” contest, which encouraged students and their families to recycle plastic shopping bags.
First place was claimed by Sterling Elementary. Stoney Creek Elementary took second place, Quail Hollow Middle took third and Randolph IB Middle was fourth in the competition, which ran Feb. 1 through March 27. In all, participating schools in three regions collected more than 7.3 million plastic bags to claim cash prizes totaling $6,750.
“Congratulations to these schools for their hard work,” said Trey W. Miller, senior environmental specialist with Mecklenburg County Solid Waste Reduction and Recycling.
The Harris Teeter contest was held in the grocery retailer’s three regions: northern, central and southern. The CMS schools took part in the southern region competition. The contest was open to all schools participating in Harris Teeter’s Together In Education program.
Sterling Elementary won $1,000 for collecting 516 bins of plastic bags. Stoney Creek won $500 for 378 bins. Quail Hollow and Randolph IB middle schools each won $250; Quail Hollow had 333 bins and Randolph 322. In all, participating schools in the three regions collected 8,100 bins of bags during the competition.
The recycled bags are sent by Harris Teeter to Trex, the largest recycler of plastic in the U.S. Trex makes alternative decking, railing, fencing and trim products that are 50 percent recycled and reclaimed plastic and 50 percent reclaimed wood. The company collects more than 1.5 billion bags annually from retailers.
