In 1970, University of Southern California graduate student Gary Anderson won a design contest with his new Mobius-inspired recycling symbol. His design, unveiled the same year as the first Earth Day celebration, is now one of the most universally recognized symbols in the world. It contains three chasing arrows that represent the primary activities in decreasing waste: reducing, reusing and recycling.
In 2012, Clinton School students learned more about the third aspect of waste reduction – recycling – as well as Anderson’s recycling symbol as it relates to plastics coded 1-7, when they visited the Waste Management Materials Recovery Facility (MRF) in Little Rock on November 9. Several municipalities in Pulaski County, including Little Rock, recently began an expanded single-stream recycling program, so the Clinton School Green Team sponsored a field trip to check out the impressive new processing system.
Rusty Miller, plant manager for the MRF, gave a great overview of the operation to Clinton School Green Team members and guests that attended (pictured L-R): Lauren Remedios, Nick Provencher, Jim Rhodes, Jacob Perry, Nicole Maddox, Danae Halstead, Jenna Rhodes, Angela Bukenya, Cathrine Schwader, Green Team Committee Chair Alex Handfinger, Chris Morgan, Marisa Nelson, Ann Owen, Charles Fleeman, and Krystle Chipman. Also in attendance were Tyler Pearson, Abby Olivier and Katt Slee.
*This post was written by Clinton School student Ann Owen (’14).