The Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI) and JASON Learning have launched their annual recycling video and poster contest aimed to build awareness about the value of recycling, and the essential benefits of the recycled materials industry. The theme for this year's contest is "Recycling: The Key to Sustainability." The ISRI-JASON Learning partnership helps promote career opportunities in the recycled materials industry and helps expand knowledge and awareness of the impact and outputs of recycled materials. Additionally, JASON Learning is a STEM-based curriculum that teaches the science behind recycling through innovative, hands-on, creative instruction and exercises.
Using a poster or video, participating students are encouraged to tell the story of a previous life of a product made from recycled materials and explain how the creation of this product is the key to sustainability and why it matters.
"Equipping tomorrow's workforce of recycled materials industry professionals begins today," says Robin Wiener, ISRI president. "This contest provides us with an opportunity to not only engage students in thinking of the recycled materials industry as a future career path but also understanding the numerous ways recycled materials keep our environment and its vital natural resources protected and preserved for future generations."
Students will identify something made from recycled material, research the recycling journey of that product, and include details about the parts that make up the product. Students are encouraged to imagine how many other items their chosen product could have been before its current form and explain why recycling is the key to sustainability. The contest is open to all students living in the U.S. and Canada and enrolled in grades K to 12 during the 2022 to 2023 school year. One grand prize poster and video will be selected from the three grade bands: K to 4, 5 to 8, and 9 to 12.
"This is an incredible opportunity for students to learn more about recycled materials and their role in sustainability," says Eleanor Smalley, president and CEO of JASON Learning.
Entries must be submitted by Friday, December 16, 2022. The grand prize winners will receive a trip to Nashville, Tennessee, with a parent or guardian to participate in ISRI's 2023 Annual Convention and Exposition.