GODDARD – Oak Street Elementary School in Goddard has earned a bench from the NexTrex Company for collecting 500 pounds of recyclable plastic grocery bags.
“Dan Funke organized this project for Oak Street Elementary and is currently helping organize this for the City of Goddard,” said Oak Street Elementary principal Ashley Miller.
Dan Funke is a member of the Goddard Lions Club that assisted the students by delivering the bags to the collection sites located at nearby Dillion’s grocery stores.
“The Goddard Lions Club was happy to work with Oak Street Elementary to bag and deliver the recyclable plastic bags,” said Funke in a statement on Facebook. “Where there is a need, there is a Lion.”
NexTrex is an industry leader in the manufacturing of wood-alternative decking and railing. The company offers programs across the country to recycle plastic bags. It helps show school-aged children how plastic grocery bags can be used to create tangible products, such as the composite material used to make the benches. The Goddard Lions Club worked with NexTrex to help bring a recycling initiative to Goddard to help get benches for the community.
In 2019 more than 700 schools across the nation participated in a similar program and recycled over 360,000 pounds of plastic bags. According to the NexTrex website, the company recycles more than 400 million pounds of plastic for their products each year.
Oak Street Elementary and the Goddard Public Library both received a bench by participating in the program planned by the Goddard Lions Club. The elementary school has already collected 300 pounds toward their next bench. The other elementary schools in Goddard are also looking into incorporating the challenge into their science programs as part of environmental education.
In addition to sending plastic bags to school with their children, community members may drop off their plastic bags for recycling at Iron Nutrition, the Goddard Public Library and the Goddard Community Center.
