Published On:Friday, February 26, 2010

THE Deep Creek Middle School (DCMS) and the Island School in Eleuthera continue to take the lead when it comes to teaching Bahamian children the importance of recycling.

And last week the DCMS received its first cheque as part of the 'Cans for Kids' project, an organisation which raises money for Bahamian schools and children's programmes through aluminum can recycling.

Family Islands set up depots to collect cans from schools and the community. The cans were then bagged to be sent to Nassau.

In Nassau, the cans are crushed, rebagged and sent to the US for recycling.

The goal of the programme is to foster the idea of recycling in Bahamian youth so that the practice becomes habitual and can take root in the Bahamas.

From October through December of 2009, DCMS and the Island School collected more than 150 lbs of aluminum cans.

On February 17, Sam Kenworthy, waste management coordinator at Cape Eleuthera Institute, presented a $45 cheque to Hershal Knowles, president of the DCMS eco club and Dr Joanna Paul, principal of DCMS.

Mr Knowles and the eco club have been working to educate

their fellow students and neighbours about the importance or recycling.

The can collecting project is part of DCMS's larger effort to become the first green flag eco-certified school in the Caribbean through Foundation for Environmental Education.

"Aluminum cans are the easiest waste stream to recycle," said Mr Kenworthy.

"Although Eleuthera has no existing recycling infrastructure, 'Cans for Kids' has made getting rid of our cans extremely easy; anyone can get involved. Being responsible for one's waste is a lesson that is not only important for young people to learn, but society as a whole. By establishing a simple, foolproof method to responsibly get rid of cans, we help ourselves, the

environment, and raise money for local schools at the same time," he said.