VENTURA : Mound School Gets Lesson in Recycling

Five-year-old Michael Cole of Ventura was a member of the disposable society until Earth Day hit in April, prompting Michael to change his wasteful ways.

“When I was littler, I drew pictures on paper and then I threw the paper away. Now I put the paper in a box to recycle it,” the conscientious youngster said.

Michael’s interest in preserving the environment led his mother, Debbie Cole, to organize a recycling program at Mound School, where Michael attends kindergarten.

To introduce the 560 students to the program, the school held an assembly Monday in which representatives from the city of Ventura told them what can and cannot be recycled and what recycled products are used for.

Teachers will keep a recycling bin, donated by a local store, in each classroom and will remind students that paper with crayon and marker drawings should be put in the bin, while paper with glue on it goes in the trash. In addition, a large container will be kept in the cafeteria for lunchtime recyclables.

Mound is the first elementary school to work directly with the city program called Waste Alternatives for Ventura’s Environment.

The part of the assembly that drew the most “oohs” and “aahs” from kindergartners to fifth-graders was when Heidi Whitman, an environmental specialist with the Ventura Regional Sanitation District, explained that today’s used aluminum soda can might be part of the next airplane the students fly in; that an empty can of cat food could go toward building their parents’ next car, and that six plastic bottles can be shredded to make the stuffing for one ski jacket.

“My generation was not taught to recycle, we just threw away what we didn’t use,” Debbie Cole said. “But ever since Earth Day, Michael became very interested in recycling and turned out to be the watchdog in the family, going through the garbage and picking out the cans and paper.

“He’s taught my husband and I a lot. That’s where I got the idea that if we teach the children about saving their environment, they’ll take what they know home and teach the parents.”

And to help teach the new generation the new attitude toward waste, the city of Ventura gave each student at Mound school a ruler bearing the motto: “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.”