Kids Crush Cans With Ed

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Kids crushing cans, stomping away with abandon with celebrity actor and environmentalist Ed Begley Jr., star of HGTV’s “Living with Ed” – that was the festive recycling scene on Saturday, March 8, at John Muir Elementary School in San Francisco.

It was the culmination of weeks of can and bottle collecting planned and organized by the John Muir Elementary School PTA in collaboration with the California Department of Conservation.

“It is imperative that we teach our youth about the importance of recycling,” Begley said. “We want to show kids that recycling is good for the environment and can be fun at the same time!”

The school and PTA joined forces with the Department of Conservation to teach students and families that it is easy and profitable to collect and recycle cans and bottles. These items have value, and the money, more than $200 earned from redeeming them, will go to finance educational projects of the school.

Most importantly, the children and their parents learned lessons in environmental responsibility. Plus, cans and bottles litter our landscape and mar its beauty.

Last May, California State PTA convention delegates adopted a resolution, Comprehensive Waste Reduction in Schools, which set in motion many efforts within California State PTA to become more environmentally aware and involved. The collaboration between PTA and the Department of Conservation is but one of these efforts.

The California Can Crush Event at John Muir Elementary School is the first of four can crush recycling events that was held during the spring of 2008 by the Department of Conservation and the California State PTA.

According to Gail Baugh, PTA President at John Muir: “The PTA is always looking for more ways to provide valuable education programs for everyone involved. This collaboration has helped us achieve that goal.”

For more information about recycling, visit www.conservation.ca.gov.
– Community Concerns Commission