MSS Students Turn Trash into Garden

Used tires become flower beds. (MSS ECO Committee Photo)
Used tires become flower beds. (MSS ECO Committee Photo)

SALEM – Students from forms one to three at the Montserrat Secondary School are learning first hand about recycling and the importance of taking care of the environment.

Mrs Anjelica Sweeney, who currently teaches Personal Moral and Social Educational classes at the school has found a practical way to teach about recycling.

“I wanted to show them that you could make amazing things from the products they use on a daily basis,” explained Sweeney. “While I don’t think they should drink so many sodas, we are using the bottles for growing plants. They have a bad habit of dumping things everywhere, so we are teaching them that they can reuse things and also pick up after themselves.”

Soda bottles are being used to make decorative hearts. It takes more than 400 years for plastic to disentigrate. (MSS ECO Committee Photo)
Soda bottles are being used to make decorative hearts. It takes more than 400 years for plastic to disentigrate. (MSS ECO Committee Photo)

The plan is to create a recycling garden, which would be a visual space for the students to see that some trash can be reused and it doesn’t have to cost a lot of money to make beautiful things, the teacher added.

Every day for the past three weeks the students use their form class session to work in the garden.

“It is slowly catching on. They used to drink about two or three bottles of soda a day now they are drinking less soda and refilling it with water. We are now up to 14 bins at the school dedicated to recycling. The soda cans are being donated to the National Trust which is right next door as they use them for starting small plants,” Sweeney said.

The teacher and students are grateful for the assistance of local companies such as Aravins Supermarket and the Public Works Department which donated more than 50 pallets for use in the garden. N&B Mechanics has donated told tires which are being turned into garden beds.

Learn more about the project by visiting their Facebook page MSS ECO Committee.

Aravins Supermarket and other local business have been donating pallets, tires and other supplies to build the garden at MSS. (MSS ECO Committee Photo)
Aravins Supermarket and other local business have been donating pallets, tires and other supplies to build the garden at MSS. (MSS ECO Committee Photo)
Students are painting some of the rocks with positive words. (MSS ECO Committee Photo)
Students are painting some of the rocks with positive words. (MSS ECO Committee Photo)

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