Canaan Community Class Project Helps Reduce Plastic Waste From Entering Into Our Oceans

Hutchinson’s students began recruiting their families, friends, and the community to collect all different types of plastic caps.

File Photo

(Madison, Ind.) – Every year at least 15 million tons of single-use plastic ends up in our ocean.

One fourth-grader from Canaan Community Academy is trying to help reduce plastic waste and make a "buddy bench" out of the plastic instead.

Taylor-Austyn Imel approached her teacher, Mrs. Hutchinson, earlier in the year to turn this idea into the class project.

“It would keep plastic caps out of the ocean, and we could use a buddy bench for our playground,” said Austyn Imel.

Hutchinson, already having a great passion for recycling loved the idea and from there the class started their research on how to make this thought into a product.

Through an ABC Promise Partnership with Green Tree Plastics in Evansville, Ind., the class watched videos on the supplies that were needed to make the bench and made goals on how they were going to complete the project.

Hutchinson’s students began recruiting their families, friends, and the community to collect all different types of plastic caps. Only needing 100 pounds of plastic caps, the students went above and beyond collecting 215 pounds.

Once collected, the students spent several hours sorting and weighing out the caps, which involved a lot of math. The students also learned a lot about teamwork while going through the process of this project.

With the help of two generous donors, taking care of the labor fees to finish the bench, the thought then became a reality.

The bench was initially scheduled to be picked-up during Spring Break and dedicated when the students returned to school. Due to the ongoing pandemic, the bench was not able to be picked up.

In April, after restrictions began to be lifted, the bench made of the collected plastic lids made its voyage from Evansville to Madison.

Although the students have not yet seen the bench in person, they were able to see it through pictures.

“The bench is currently tucked away, so it can be dedicated when we are back in school,” said Hutchinson.