Our Projects School Battery Retrieval Competition Markham 2010 This program is proudly sponsored by the Town of Markham. EcoWatch Canada is pleased to announce the winner of the winner of the Competition. Congratulations to winning Schools and thank you all for participating this competition. 1st - Unionville Meadows P. S. ** 1.46 LBs per student ** 2nd - James Robinson P. S. ** 1.32 LBs per student ** 3rd - Ashton Meadows P. S. ** 0.72 LBs per student ** *** The winner is detemined by the highest weight per student. The Competition Input from the school during the competition How your school can participate in this program Starter kit Battery Pick Up Schedule Educational Material/Download Award and recognition Ever since the competition began in November 2009, we have so far collected 6000 LBs of household batteries. Which is equivalent to approximately 300,000 individual batteries. Let's keep up the good work!! Lastest Result: Last Update: June 07, 2011 By lb/student: Batteries and our environment Dry-cell batteries, used in most common household products and toys, are part of our everyday lives. However, little thought has been given to the chemicals they contain to generate the energy we use. When they run out of power, they are often thrown into the rubbish without a second thought (which is illegal!). Once a battery is in the waste stream, it becomes difficult to separate. Consequently, it is sent to landfill with other non-recyclable products. Over time, the battery decomposes and dangerous chemicals seep into the ground, and potentially to our water supplies. Although "dry cell" batteries represent less than one (1%) percent of municipal solid waste weight, they account for fifty-two (52%) percent of all Cadmium (predominantly used in rechargeable ni-cd batteries) and eighty-eight (88%) percent of all Mercury (For more information about Mercury in batteries, please go to Environment Canada website) found in landfills. In Canada, we value the importance of protecting our environment and have undertaken a number of initiatives to maximize recycling and minimize waste. However, we believe that increasing awareness and knowledge is very important. Batteries should be recycled to keep heavy metals and other toxic substances out of landfill and water supply. The objective of the School Battery Retrieval Competition is to educate high school students the impact of land and water contamination from batteries as well as the importance of stopping the batteries being disposed as municipal solid waste through the competition. The Competition Discarded batteries can dangers to personal health and the environment. Properly dispose them to keep dangerous chemicals such as mercury and cadmium out of our landfill. Students will learn about the importance of battery recycling. This program consists of training, collecting, and recycling of household batteries. Schools in Markham will participate through a competition each school year. Input from the school during the competition Our EcoWatch personnel will work closely with your school. Before the competition start, our volunteers will deliver the starter kit to the school and place the recycling bin to a location according to application form. The starter kit contains all the necessary information and accessories that you will need throughout the competition. The only input we need during the competition is a contact (either a teacher or student) to inform us once the recycling bin is being fill up. Then we will arrange a pick-up and deliver the collected batteries to the hazardous waste treatment plant. At the end of the competition, the winning school (based on average battery weight collected per student), will be rewarded and recognized for their efforts. Starter kit Each school is provided with the following materials to run the competition: 2009 EcoWatch Battery Collection Container - 1 x 110 liters container per school. The container is a 100% Recyclable Bin made from a minimum of 30% post industrial recycled Polypropylene Plastic. The container has a diameter of 18". 2010 EcoWatch Battery Collection Container - 1 x 68 liters container per school. The container is made from resin and has a dimension of 18 1/4" W x 24 3/8" D x 17" H. Used batteries should be dropped into this container. Pick Up Schedule Week of October 18 (Completed) Week of December 13 (Completed) Week of March 7 (Completed) Week of May 9 (final Pickup) Educational Material/Download Poster - Why recycle batteries? Environmental crossword puzzle Award and recognition The winning schools will receive a trophy, and the following prizes: 1st place - BBC Planet Earth Complete Series (Blue-Ray) 2nd place - The Universe - Complete Season One and Two 3rd place - The Planet DVD Set Additional gifts will be given at the ceremony Schools participating in the program Thank all of the school participants for taking part in this program to protect our environment. Armadale Public School Ashton Meadows Public School Ballantrae Public School Cedarwood Public School Coledale Public School Donald Cousens Public School Ellen Fairclough Public School James Robinson Public School Mount Joy Public School Ramer Wood Public School Markham District High School Milliken Mills High School Pierre Elliott Trudeau High School St. Robert Catholic High School Unionville High School Reesor Park Public School San Lorenzo Ruiz Catholic Elementary School St Vincent de Paul Catholic School St. Francis Xavier St. Justin Martyr Elementary school Stonebridge Public School Unionville Meadows Public School Unionville Public School Wilclay Public School Wismer Public School How your school can participate in this program If your school would like to take the initiative to protect our environment, please download and fill out the application form and email back to our Project Officer Emily Wong at emilie.wong@ecowatchcanada.org. A program starter kit will deliver to your school in October 2010. EcoWatch Battery Recycling Application Form (112 kb) NOTE: Please right-click on the link and choose 'Save Target As'. This program is offered only to Schools in Town of Markham.