William Ford fourth-grade students collect bottle caps to create benches at HFC

Release Date
Mariam Hamid with recycling bins.

Two members of Sustainable HFC, Nancy Knick and Sara Gonzalez-Herrera, recently visited teacher Mariam Hamid’s 4th-grade class at William Ford Elementary School, inspiring her students to start a recycling project of their own.

“(HFC Pre-Education Program Director) Dr. Carolyn Casale mentioned that Sustainable HFC members are passionate about recycling. They spoke to my class about recycling plastic bottle caps and lids into benches on HFC’s main campus,” said Hamid. “I thought this would be a great cause for my students. We need to educate our students by giving them the tools they need to help the environment. Not only would this benefit our students, but also our community!”

Recycling project empowers fourth-graders

“This is a great illustration of HFC engaging with the community,” said Casale. “It also motivated these fourth-graders to take responsibility for their community.”

During the Fall semester, Hamid’s 25 students collected a large amount of bottle caps. They have three yard-waste bags filled to the brim, containing thousands of bottle lids. Manufacturing a new 6-foot bench requires 200 pounds of plastic caps and lids, which is the equivalent of about 4-5 recycled yard bags, said Gonzalez-Herrera. The benches will be produced with 100% recycled materials.

“Ms. Hamid’s class filled up three of these bags,” said Gonzalez-Herrera. “And in a short period of time, too!”

Hamid is impressed by her students’ dedication to this project.

“When we would go out for recess, some of my students would walk around the playground and pick up bottle caps, and then go play! The joy I saw in their faces as they collected the caps was priceless. You could see the intrinsic reward shine through their eyes,” said Hamid. “Our goal is to continue collecting bottle caps and lids until June 2024. My students love to be helpful. This project has empowered them by giving them the satisfaction of helping to create usable outdoor furniture through what otherwise may have been trash.”

She continued: “Recycling obviously helps reduce the amount of waste sent to landfills. If we want to keep our community clean, provide our children with improved quality of air and water, and fight climate change, we have to educate them early. If children learn from a young age to recycle, they will most likely understand the importance of recycling and carry that with them for life, passing it on from one generation to another. Giving them the opportunity to be part of this kind of project can help them see that they can make a difference.”

HFC team members are encouraged to collect bottle caps and lids

Gonzalez-Herrera encourages HFC team members and their families to collect plastic bottle caps and lids and drop them off at designated campus locations:

  • The first floor of the Welcome Center (Building WC on the main campus) (look for Knick and Gonzalez-Herrera).
  • The blue drop-off container on the first floor of the Science Building (Building J on the main campus), next to the battery recycling container.
  • Other drop-off locations around campus, including in the ASCC (L) Building.

For a complete list of acceptable bottle caps and lids, visit GreenTreePlastics.com.

For questions or more information, contact Gonzalez-Herrera at sagonzalez@hfcc.edu or Knick at nrknick@hfcc.edu.