Noble Elementary recycling pays off

By Sharon Noguchi

snoguchi@mercurynews.com

Posted: 10/21/2011 04:31:50 PM PDT

Updated: 10/22/2011 02:10:53 PM PDT

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Marissa Rangel, 8, a third-grader, helps collect the recyclables 

Almost fairytale-like, Noble Elementary School this year converted trash into treasure.But it took a lot more than a fervent wish and a wave of a wand for the Berryessa school to win a $50,000 play structure for the school's empty playground. In a mega-recycling campaign, for one year students and parents saved, sorted and shipped what normally ends up in the trash: empty Doritos bags, Lunchables trays, Elmer's glue bottles, Colgate toothbrushes and toothpaste tubes.
And there was more: Neosporin tubes, tortilla bags and all types of pens and markers. In all, parents collected and sorted into 37 bins items from both home and school, and sent them to Terracycle, a not-for-profit New Jersey company dedicated to recycling the previously unrecyclable.
Last school year, Noble shipped more than 100,000 items that Terracycle turned into fodder for raw materials like plastic lumber and ice chests.
And as often happens when enlisting kids, Noble students, especially the kindergartners, got on board with zeal.
"If you toss something away that was Terracyclable, boy, you were in trouble," said Telma Rangel, the parent who initiated and still oversees the recycling campaign. Even on field trips, kids brought along bags and collected whatever could be diverted from the trash.
Every school day, Rangel, co-chairwoman Season Barrientos and a core of parents collected and sorted the Terracycles. It's a time-consuming and sometimes

messy task. "We hope the kids put just Capri Suns in the bin marked Capri Suns," Rangel said. "Then we can just dump them out and stomp on them."
Noble earned about $2,000 for its efforts. Last summer, the school became one of four campuses in the nation to win one of four play structures, made in part from recycled flip-flops, from Terracycle.
Rangel explained on the survey application why the school deserved a playground: "Because our kids practice being green every day, and they would be honored and thrilled to have a playground made out of flip-flops."
And yes, Terracycle ran a flip-flop recycling campaign last year, collecting the used footwear from customers at Old Navy stores.
But it's not just about money; it's also about environmental lessons and benefits. Instead of the janitor emptying garbage cans six times after the school's staggered lunchtime, now he carries it out only once. Families bringing in recyclables also generate less waste.
Two of Rangel's grown children bring empty bottles and wrappers from their work places. And her husband Gary, serving in Afghanistan, ships his energy-bar wrappers home, reminded by their third-grade daughter Marissa.
On Noble's Yahoo group site, Rangel sends parents reminders: "Halloween's coming up; don't forget to save your candy wrappers."
The new play structure is a daily, tangible reward for their efforts. A few years ago, Noble got rid of its aging out-of-code play structure, and the PTA raised $25,000 to build a new play area and replace the wood chips with recycled rubber chips. But it didn't have enough for a new structure.
"The kids pretty much threw rubber chips at each other," PTA President Manju Ramachandran said. "It's sad, but they're kids!" The PTA still hopes to raise enough to erect an additional structure in the play lot.
Noble is one of more than 40 schools and other organizations in San Jose running what Terracycle calls brigades, or collections of particular items for recycling. And the variety of items destined for a second life is expanding. "Everything comes in a pouch these days. It's easy to put in a lunchbox, but they don't break down in a landfill," said Stacey Cusack of Terracycle.
Many of those throwaways are generated in school lunchrooms, so more schools -- with energetic students and hardworking parents and teachers -- are joining the brigades.
Rangel said she didn't envision how much work the recycling would entail, but the Terracycling, has generated fun and friendships, as well as the play structure. 

Berryessa holds first 5K Walk, raises $4,000 for schools

by Wes Bowers

Posted: 10/13/2011 10:12:02 AM PDT

Updated: 10/13/2011 10:12:02 AM PDT

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The brainchild of a Noble Elementary School Parent Teacher Association member originally intended to be a school fund-raiser quickly blossomed into an event for the entire district.Noble PTA and San Jose City Councilmember Kansen Chu hosted the first Berryessa 5K Walk Sunday, Oct. 9, raising funds to benefit all schools in the Berryessa Union School District.
The event was the creation of parent Manju Ramachandran, who initially hoped to raise money for Noble.

Ramachandran thought of the event in June and wanted to celebrate Walk to School Week, the first week of October. Ramachandran said she was tired of each campus holding isolated events and decided to create a Berryessa 5K Walk instead of a Noble 5K.

"Every one of our schools has a walkathon, and I wanted to figure out a way to bring the entire community together for our district," she said. Unlike other fund-raisers that set a monetary goal, Ramachandran set a goal of attracting 250 participants. She said 580 people registered for the run, while 515 were at the starting line Sunday. Ramachandran said about 330 participants were from Noble. There were also participants from Majestic Way and Northwood elementary schools.
Entrance fees were $20 for adults, $10 for children and $15 for a family of four. Half of the admission went to the participant's school, so if an adult paid their $20 entrance fee, $10 went to the school their child attends, Ramachandran said.

On top of that, Chu's office matched $5 for every walker in attendance, Ramachandran said.
A total of $4,000 had been raised by press time. "This is a wonderful event to bring the community together," Chu said. "It's for a very good cause and a great way to support district schools. It's something everybody can do."

The course began at the Berryessa Community Center, then traversed up Piedmont Road through Penitencia Creek around the percolation ponds. The run then made its way to the library and back to the Berryessa Community Center, a total of 3.1 miles, or 5 kilometers.
Also in attendance were about 45 students from Piedmont Hills High School who also paid the entrance fee.

Ramachandran said she tried to donate the funds those students raised to the high school, but because it's part of the East Side Union High School District, the money was rejected. After the run a resource fair was held at the community center featuring many of the sponsors including Cold Stone Creamery, Sports Authority and Sylvan Learning Center, among 13 others. Even Jamba Juice, which wasn't an event sponsor, came to the resource fair.

Ramachandran is hoping to hold the run around the same time next year and attract about 750 people. Although Walk to School Week starts the first weekend in October, she wants to make sure the Berryessa 5K Walk doesn't conflict with the Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon in downtown San Jose, which attracts thousands of runners to city streets. She's also hoping to move the walk to Berryessa streets rather than the trails around Penitencia Creek.

"I'm hoping we can move onto streets like Grossmont," she said. "Many of the paths on the trails Sunday were very narrow, and it was hard for people with strollers to walk." Ramachandran is also hoping to turn future runs into races, complete with accreditations as a sanctioned event. "I think it's a great way for children and families to spend time together, and come out to support the community and our schools," she said. "It was a great first time out, and there was just a lot of positive energy all day."

Contact Wes Bowers at wbowers@themilpitaspost.com or 510-661-9920. Visit us on our social media sites at facebook.com/milpitas post and twitter.com/milpitaspost.
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