Earth Day Surprise for Pierrepont's Green Team

By Jennifer Ersalesi

Photo credit: Mr. Shaun Bach

After months of collecting, weighing, and storing plastic bags, the Pierrepont Green Team members, along with their Advisors, Mr. Shaun Bach and Ms. Samanatha Singer learned some exciting news on Earth Day (April 20, 2020). The Pierrepont School Green Team won the Northeast Elementary Division of the Trex Plastic Film Recycling Challenge after competing against 723 other schools.

The students, their families, and the faculty at Pierrepont School, as well as many members of the community, contributed to this plastic drive by donating plastic bags and other types of plastic wrapping. Members of the Green Team, fourth, fifth, and sixth graders, met monthly with Bach and Singer to discuss, plan, and to sort and weigh donated plastic. The final amount collected was 2,246 pounds of plastic.

The prize for winning this contest is a bench made by Trex (manufacturer of high-performance composite decking) from recycled plastic. It takes 40,000 bags to create one bench. The new bench will be delivered in the Fall and placed proudly on school grounds.

Some members of the Green Team thank the community