Elementary students rewarded for RECYCLING

Recently, Keep San Saba Beautiful (KSSB) challenged the Elementary School to collect plastic beverage bottles in a recycling contest among the grades. The challenge, one of KSSB’s efforts to educate the public and to keep a cleaner, greener, more beautiful community, in conjunction with the Great American Cleanup and the Don’t Mess with Texas Trash Off, was a very successful event. The students not only collected plastic bottles but also researched recycling. The students received daily broadcast announcements, “on the importance of taking care of our world and examples were given on how to do this.” The students did an outstanding job, and because all the classes did very well, KSSB was asked if they would support rewarding all the students. Initially, the winning class would be treated to a pizza party.

The students collected over 50,000 PET plastic bottles weighing 1,850 pounds from March 4, through April 11, 2024. Their impressive collection surprised the San Saba Recycling Center team! This volume of plastic bottles usually takes several months to collect through regular curbside recycling collection. Residents are encouraged to continue recycling plastic bottles and other accepted items in their recycling cart or at the San Saba Recycling Center to reduce landfill usage and to help Keep San Saba Beautiful! Check out the sticker on your recycling cart for guidelines on what items can be recycled.

Coca-Cola Southwest Beverages (CCSWB) and Keep Texas Beautiful (KTB) sponsored pizza parties for the participating elementary students and transportation costs to recycle plastic bottles to support recycling in San Saba. Coca-Cola Southwest Beverages Waco also donated beverages in the new slim can product line. KSSB thanks all the students and staff who participated in the bottle challenge, Keep Texas Beautiful, and Coca-Cola Southwest Beverages.

On April 30, the winners of the challenge, the Kindergarten class, were visited by Debbie Shahan (KSSB Board Director), Sarah Saldivar (KSSB Executive Director), and Alonzo Jimenez (Recycling Center Representative) to express their gratitude for an awesome job that exceeded KSSB expectations. Alonzo informed the students of the process by which the bottles they collected would go through locally before being transported to the recycling processing center. The kindergarten class that won the challenge also received special popsicles at their pizza party on May 1.

The party was on. The Kindergartners along with all the other grades were spread throughout the campus grounds, enjoying their pizza and Coca-Cola beverages.

Thank you for Keeping San Saba Beautiful by recycling!