Roton Recycling Club Promotes Environmental Responsibility & Helps with End-of-Year Trip Costs

“Dr. Brown, where should I put this?”

Another Roton Middle School student has entered Dr. Christine Brown’s office with a white garbage bag, stuffed with cans and bottles, ready to be deposited and redeemed for 10 cents a piece.

“I’ll take it. Thank you!” says Dr. Brown, the Roton’s school social worker, who tags the bag with a Post-It note with the student’s name written on it and sets it in the corner with the rest of the bags, ready to be counted and sorted by the Roton Recycling Club.

See how the process works! (VIDEO)

Launched this fall, the Roton Recycling Club is collecting non-alcoholic cans and bottles brought in by students from home. Club members count the number of containers in each bag and keep a record so the deposit return can go toward that student’s end-of-year trip cost.

“We already had one student bring in 2,000 containers, which added up to $200 off their trip!” Dr. Brown said.

Connecticut is one of 10 states in the U.S. that are "bottle bill" states. Bottle bills, also known as container redemption programs, may have slightly different provisions in each state, but essentially they work by charging a small deposit on a container at the time of purchase which is then returned to the consumer when the empty bottle is returned.

Once the students count the total for each bag, they throw all the cans and bottles into large green bags for Dr. Brown or another staff member to take to a local redemption center. Any additional funds collected will be distributed to students who may need financial assistance.

Dr. Brown piloted the recycling program for about a month last school year then fully launched the program this October. The club helps to promote environmental responsibility, working together as a team, and the value of community giveback. 

The students create incentives each month to get their classmates excited about recycling.

For the month of November, the incentives were extra recess, a game day or a snack during the first 15 minutes of class. A snack cart is brought around on Fridays to ensure that all students can enjoy an extra special treat.

At the end of the year, Roton’s sixth graders will travel down the road for an overnight at Nature’s Classroom. The seventh graders will head to the bright lights of New York City, and the eighth graders will ship up to Boston for their end-of-year trips.