Mississippi Recycling Coalition Announces Recycling Star Award
(JACKSON, MS) – The Mississippi Recycling Coalition (MRC) is pleased to recognize one of Mississippi’s outstanding young people for her efforts to increase and promote recycling in her community. The Coalition recently presented Ms. Becca Blair of Brandon, MS with a “Recycling Star” Award at a ceremony at the State Capitol Building coinciding with the organization’s Recycling Awareness Day. Becca, age 9, resides with her family in Brandon, MS near the Ross Barnett Reservoir where she has worked to promote and grow recycling in her community. From a very young age, Becca’s family instilled in her the importance of conserving our natural resources and being good stewards of the environment. Along with her family, Becca has been a faithful volunteer with the Keep the Reservoir Beautiful organization since she was only 3 years old.
In March 2016, Becca had the idea to incorporate her passion for the environment into her school work by conducting a recycling project to determine how much material her neighbors were recycling. Becca started collecting recyclables from a few neighbors initially, weighing the material, and then transporting it to the public drop-off recycling facility at the local fire station. Her plan was to the record the amount of recyclables collected over a one month period. However, with the encouragement of her family and neighbors, Becca decided to keep the recycling project going. She developed a slogan “Help Me Go Green and Recycle” and advertised her “recycling services” by distributing flyers around her neighborhood. Her initial collection route included 19 neighbors, but due to overwhelming interest she expanded to collect additional homes in her own neighborhood as well as 80 homes in her grandmother’s neighborhood with requests from other residents in the area coming in. Every week, rain or shine, Becca collects recyclables, records the weight, and takes the materials to the drop-off center. To date, Becca, with help from her Mom (Michelle Blair) and Grandmother (Kathy Joslyn), has collected over 3,000 lbs. of recyclables! Recently Becca’s project garnered national praise and recognition with the 2016 Keep America Beautiful Individual Youth Award.
The Mississippi Recycling Coalition is proud to recognize Ms. Becca Blair and to name her our “Recycling Star” for the State for her efforts to promote recycling and raise awareness about its benefits in her community. The MRC greatly appreciates Becca and her family’s hard work and commitment to recycling and environmental stewardship, and we look forward to keeping in touch with Becca and her neighbors in their efforts to grow recycling in their community.
For more information on the Mississippi Recycling Coalition and the various programs and events sponsored by the organization, please visit the MRC web page at www.msrecycles.org, like us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/MSRecycles, and follow us on Twitter @MSRecycles.
###
