The Andrews Future Problem Solving team won second place internationally with its recycling project. FPS teacher Cindy Tochterman was the sponsor for the project.
WW: Why did you start recycling?
Tochterman: We have a program at the high school called Future Problem Solvers. Part of the Future Problem Solvers is community problem-solving. The kids did about a month-long study before they decided to do recycling as their project. We teamed up with the city director of Outreach, Scott Wallace, who was thinking the same thing as us.
WW: When did you start the recycling facility?
Tochterman: The grand opening was last year on Feb. 15.
WW: How has the recycling facility impacted the
community?
Tochterman: The city already had paper dumpsters, but the recycling center on 814 North Main also takes cardboard. They put the hole in the building to make sure people would crush their boxes so it’s less work.
One of my students said “We should put a world around that so it looks like we’re feeding the world.” We want to start taking plastic, aluminum and glass. We are working on that now. It has reduced the amount of waste going into our landfill. West Texas is about 25 years behind the recycling curve. I see less trash around. It has changed a few people’s minds about recycling.
WW: How much has been recycled there?
Tochterman: By the time we went to competition, at the high school alone, they had recycled 49 tons (of paper). That’s not including the amount of cardboard.
WW: Were the people of Andrews enthusiastic about the new recycling opportunities?
Tochterman: Very. We did a survey before competition. Ninety-five percent of people interviewed knew about the recycling facility, and 85 percent had started recycling because of this. We interviewed 100 people at the grocery store who were coming and going.
WW: Why is recycling important to you?
Tochterman: We want our world to be sustainable. We know we’re running out of resources. I don’t want my grandchildren to be limited on resources because we used them all. This is a way to give back.
WW: How is what you’re doing going to help in the long run?
Tochterman: I think training our kids to recycle will make it a life-long habit.