CONTACT: Richard Walsh or Matthew Brelis 617-568-3100
East Boston Elementary Schools “Cap” Off School Year with Recycling Challenge
Students collect 1,500 pounds of bottle caps
EAST BOSTON – Third grade students from five East Boston elementary schools collected more than fifteen hundred pounds of plastic bottle caps this past school year as part of a competition to promote recycling. The challenge was part of a larger environmental awareness campaign sponsored by Massport that included Radio Disney performers visiting schools to entertain students with upbeat performances focusing on the environment. To instill environmental awareness, Massport challenged the students in each class to participate in a bottle cap recycling program with other East Boston elementary schools. The James Otis School collected the most caps with 680 pounds winning $2,500 for educational purposes courtesy of Massport. The four runner-up schools received $300 gift cards from Framingham-based Staples, Inc. Participating schools included the Curtis Guild School, Patrick J. Kennedy School, Hugh R. O’Donnell School, and Umana Academy.
“This initiative brought an environmental awareness program to more than 200 elementary school children and challenged them to apply what they learned at home,” said David Mackey, Massport Interim CEO and Executive Director. “We enjoyed the classroom experience and the student’s excitement and we thank the Boston Public Schools for the opportunity to connect with the children in such a meaningful way.”
All bottle caps collected by students will be donated by Massport to Artists for Humanity where they will be used to create an art exhibit to be displayed at a Massport facility. For twenty years, Artists for Humanity has been empowering and employing Boston teens in a uniquely intensive program of arts, creativity and enterprise.
Among all plastic, one of the least commonly recycled items are the caps used to seal plastic containers according to capscando.org, an organization dedicated to plastic cap recycling. Historically, most recyclers have required that caps be removed from the bottle and left out of the recycling bin. Fortunately, the City of Boston allows for the recycling of plastic containers including caps and lids.
Boston Logan, 15 minutes from the intersection of Route 128 and I-90 and five minutes from downtown Boston, serves as the gateway to the New England region and offers nonstop service to 72 domestic and 31 international destinations and in 2011 handled 28.9 million passengers. Boston Logan is the Air Line Pilot Association’s Airport of the Year for 2008 because of its commitment to safety. Over the past decade, the airport spent $4.5 billion on a modernization program that includes new terminals, public transportation access, parking facilities, roadways and airport concessions, and has been transformed into a world-class 21st Century facility. The airport generates $7 billion in total economic impact each year.
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The Massachusetts Port Authority (Massport) operates Boston Logan International Airport, the Port of Boston, Hanscom Field and Worcester Regional Airport. Massport is a financially self-sustaining public authority whose premier transportation facilities generate more than $8 billion annually, and enhance and enable economic growth and vitality in New England.