Last Updated on Tuesday, 18 January 2011 11:50

Attention Westchester Third Graders!

Help make the earth's future brighter by becoming a Recycling Ranger!

Did You Know?
If everyone in the USA recycled their Sunday newspaper, it would save 500,000 trees a year!!		The average American throws away 4½ pounds of trash every day—For a family of 4 that’s 18 pounds!!

The Recycling Ranger program is a way to engage young people in thinking about their role in protecting the environment. By emphasizing recyling, we hope to encourage children to contribute to the future health of our planet by being good stewards of the environment now, one recyclable at a time.

Here's how the program works...

• Contact a participating legislator to visit your third grade classroom to launch the Recycling Ranger program.

• Following this initial visit to the classroom to discuss what recycling is all about and how it helps the environment, students are asked to put their creativity behind a project or an activity that raises awareness about the importance of recycling.

• After collecting and reviewing the projects, the Legislator will make a return visit to review the students' presentations.

• Participating students will receive certificates signifying they completed the program and sheriff-like Recycling Rangers badges.

Whether students create a poem, a drawing or painting or an original idea to encourage others to remember to recycle, students find this activity not only challenging and fun but get a great lesson on the environment and community.

Guess what can be recycled...All of these & more!
Glass Jars?		Computers?		Newspaper?
	Cell phones?		Soda Cans?		Ketchup Bottles?

Westchester County wants you to recycle as much as possible. Our community collects:

• Newspapers, magazines, junk mail, card board
• Glass jars and bottles
• Plastic (marked 1 or 2 in the recycle triangle)
• Tin and aluminum cans, pie pans

Many other items that could harm people or the environment are collected by Westchester County for safe disposal on special Household Clean Up Days. These items include: Household chemicals like paint thinner and insecticides, car tires, mercury thermometers, fluorescent light bulbs and rechargeable and button cell batteries.

Read the attached flyer or check the County website for the collection places, dates and times. www.westchestergov.com/envfacil

Electronics can be recycled too!
Cell phones. It’s against the law to throw away a cell phone. Old cell phones can be fixed for people who may need help in a hurry. Check the County website for Household Chemical Clean-up Day locations and other places you can take a cell phone for recycling.	Computers. Westchester County matches up businesses that are buying new computers with non-profit groups like schools, programs that do job training and after-school programs. Check: www.westchestergov.com/WestchesterAccess