A Gaston Early College club has the chance to win $3,000 for its anti-litter campaign.
Members of the school’s Lorax Club developed the slogan “Don’t be trashy, keep it classy”. Pepsi chose him as a finalist in its Recycle Rally competition.
“The kids had a lot of fun with it. They designed the slogan with plastic cans as if they were going to the prom. The ‘prom’ represented a recycling bin,” said Sarah Fink, science teacher and counselor at the club. .
The slogan will be featured live on PepsiCo Recycling’s Facebook at 7 p.m. on Monday, April 18.
A winner will be selected based on how the public reacts via Facebook to the submission photos posted.
Slogans are selected based on visual appeal, effective communication, relevance and photo applicability of their bin, door or notice board designs, Fink said.
Fink has always been environmentally conscious. She started teaching at Gaston Early College four years ago and wanted to give her students the opportunity to be part of something that will start a recycling initiative at school.
“When you’re an educator, you try to get your kids excited about the same things you are. I started the club three years ago and since then we’ve done a few activities for the school,” Fink said.
Alongside his students, Fink set up recycling bins throughout the school and tracked and set goals on the amount of waste recycled.
“I wanted the club to be entirely student-run. They set a goal of recycling 20 pounds of waste for the year. This month we found out we recycled 25 pounds instead,” said Fink said.
“The kids were very excited,” she added.
According to Fink, the club are unsure what to do with the prize money, but said plans are afoot should they win.
“A lot of kids have thought about donating it to tree planting organizations and others have thought about doing more eco-friendly activities at school, like a compost bin,” Fink said. .
Viewers will have the opportunity to vote for their favorite slogan until Friday, April 22.
Beatriz Guerrero can be reached at 704-869-1828 or on Twitter @BeatrizGue_.