Paige Elizabeth Stricker

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Paige’s project was titled “Recycle, Reuse, Donate”.  Paige wanted to address the fact that there are many items lying around the house that can be recycled to benefit the community, but people are unaware of where and how to donate these items.  Paige started by collecting VHS tapes and unwanted DVDs.  Most VHS tapes are ending up in landfills, but they are recyclable.  All plastics 1-7 can be recycled, but most recycling programs only collect #1 (water and soda cans) and #2 (detergent bottles).   Paige found a program in Missouri called Alternative Community Training (ACT), that recycles and refurbishes VHS tapes, and they hire disabled adults to do all the recycling.  All proceeds are used within the program to employ disabled adults in various capacities within the company.  All the unwanted DVDs were also recycled through ACT.  The reusable children’s DVDs were used to create a portable entertainment cart containing the DVDs, a portable DVD player, and arts and crafts.  The portable cart was donated to the Short Stay Unit at Hackettstown Regional Medical Center. Paige updated and distributed a brochure for the Long Valley Recycling Center that helped promote two Recycling Programs, one for recycling electronics, and the other for large scale paper shredding.

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Finally, Paige created a website to promote recycling both locally and globally.  As an example, it lets you know where you can donate shoes for victims of the earthquake in Haiti.