Our 4-H leader split us into groups of three or four, handing out lists for a scavenger hunt. It was soon clear all we needed would not be found in the Extension Office. Years later, I do not recall what we gathered or who won. What sticks with me is the conversations we had about our club and 4-H while going door-to-door around the neighborhood asking to borrow items before time ran out. I recently talked to a few of the Keep Alliance Beautiful scavenger hunt winners about their experiences while taking part in the annual America Recycles Day activity.
KAB has conducted the scavenger hunt in November since 2017 with local students and a few adults participating. This year was our best response yet with 151 of 853 forms returned from classrooms. A $195 mini-grant from the Mission Store funded most of the checks and other prizes.
From all the entries turned in by the deadline, we drew two winners from each school and one from the public. I discussed the contest and recycling in general with Avalon Mundt, Emerson-kindergarten, Tee Johnson, St. Agnes Academy-third grade, Billy Dobler, Grandview-third grade and adult winner Rhonda Cox. All four received $25. Other prizes were Monopoly Go Green games and Lego recycling trucks.
With 151 entries I assume this was the first time some of the participants recycled. However, the small group I talked to have all recycled before. Two of the children’s families are on our curbside route in fact. Tee said he helps with the sorting at home, usually gathering paper. He likes to make crafts out of cardboard, bottles and other plastics. Avalon gets the boxes ready.
The quarry, like in previous hunts, was meant to be easily bagged: empty plastic bottle, toilet paper or paper towel center, used envelope, empty aluminum can and empty cereal box. Billy said he didn’t think about being able to recycle cereal boxes though he is familiar with corrugated cardboard from helping his mom break down big boxes on occasion at her workplace. “We had plenty of cereal boxes,” Tee added.
All four participants had no problem finding everything and had fun. The boys liked winning the money best. Tee participated last year while this was the first hunt for Billy and Avalon. Rhonda has done the contest three or four times. This year she heard KAB Executive Director Kathy Worley talking to Jason Wentworth on KCOW radio then checked facebook for details. “I just love contests,” she said. “I had everything on hand, so why not.”
Asked about the importance of recycling, Tee was most concerned about animals, especially marine life. He hopes more people will adopt the habit, “so the animals won’t eat the trash.” Bill wants to “keep our planet healthy,” while Avalon said people should recycle to “keep the planet clean.” Rhonda said she recycles to “help the planet for future generations. . . . If everybody does a little we can get a lot done . . . (recycling is) helping keep things out of the landfill.”
Whether participants won a prize or not, I hope the contest piques their interest in recycling. Tee and Billy, specifically, would like to see “what some of this stuff is turned into.”
If even a few families involved pick up the habit or start recycling more often, a few minutes collecting for a contest could pay dividends in the years to come.