• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Youth Eco Solutions

  • About YES!
    • About YES!
    • Partners & Supporters
    • Our Team
    • Employment Opportunities
  • Our Work
    • Statewide Map
    • YES! Team Projects
      • Current Team Projects
      • Past Team Projects
    • Impact
    • Events
  • Get Involved
    • Start a YES! Team
    • Invest in YES!
    • Community Involvement
  • Media
    • YES! Video
    • YES! In The News
    • YES! Blog
    • E-Newsletter
  • DONATE

PayPal Donation Button

April 13, 2023 | News

Southern Minnesota YES! Teams Learn About the Problems with Plastic and How to Reduce Waste

Recent workshops in Sleepy Eye (March 30) and Mankato (April 5) prepared YES! students with knowledge, activities, and resources about reducing waste at home, at school, or in their community. Participating schools were Sleepy Eye Public, St. Mary’s Catholic (Sleepy Eye), Mankato East, Mankato West, and Westbrook-Walnut Grove.

Waste sorting activity

At both workshops, Jane Dow from Mankato Area Zero Waste taught about recycling and the problems with plastic. She began by making the case for organics recycling, better known as composting, and then led an activity.

Students had been instructed to bring to the workshop a small collection of recyclable waste from home. In groups, the students discussed their items, separating them into “Recyclable” and “Landfill” piles. Jane asked each group for examples of items that they weren’t sure how to classify and then explained which ones can be recycled, and where.

“The sorting activity was important for students to stop and think before they toss,” said Mary Beth Botz, who teaches at St. Mary’s and co-coaches the Sleepy Eye YES! Team. “I find that either they throw everything in the trash or everything in the recycle. It was valuable for them to evaluate their choices.”

Jane Dow teaches about recycling
Presenter Jane Dow

Next, Jane gave a sobering presentation on the negative impacts that using plastics has on human health and the environment. She closed her session by showing participants a variety of sustainable products for home and personal care that contain few or no plastics.

During the April 5 workshop, participants boarded a school bus for a tour of Mankato’s waste management and resource recovery facilities led by Bill Goebel, Blue Earth County Waste Operations Coordinator. The highlight of the tour was driving down into the Ponderosa Landfill, where students saw covered waste pits, leachate ponds, an ash field, plastic pollution, and wildlife. In the distance, a flock of gulls revealed where trash was being placed in an open pit. Bill explained how he and his staff monitor the entire landfill for potential pollution in order to comply with environmental regulations and to protect local water, soil, and air quality.

Presenter Bill Goebel

“This workshop was perfectly in line with the needs of our YES! team,” said Mankato East teacher Julia Battern. “The students (and I) were able to think about waste in the Mankato community through the bus tour to better understand where things go when we are done using them.”

The Waste Reduction Workshops were organized by YES! Coordinator Deb Groebner. YES! is a program of Prairie Woods Environmental Learning Center in partnership with Ney Nature Center. Major support for YES! comes from the Minnesota Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund (ENRTF), and the National Science Foundation Grant 2147839 with UMN Institute on the Environment.

Jane Dow teaching recycling session
Jane Dow leads a discussion with Sleepy Eye students
Students on bus
Students gaze at Ponderosa Landfill during bus tour
Students present Upcycled crafts they made
Westbrook-Walnut Grove students show crafts they made by upcycling waste (with coach Pat Merrick)
Students meeting
Mankato East YES! students discuss project ideas with coach Julia Battern and presenter Jane Dow
Mankato West YES! students and coach Eric Koser discuss plans for a team project
TwitterFacebookLinkedInEmailPrintFriendly
Previous Post: « “Students Working Together: Energy Actions at School” Virtual Workshop with CERTs
Next Post: Welcoming a New YES Director, Kalley Pratt »

Primary Sidebar

Alumni Stories/Testimonial

Alumni Stories/Testimonial

“In sustainability, the best outcome is only possible through collaboration”"

- Stephanie Pederson

Let’s Connect

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Sign up and receive the latest news, events, and more from YES!

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Footer

[email protected] 320-354-5894

Copyright © 2023 Youth Eco Solutions. All Rights Reserved. Developed by Vivid Image. Privacy Policy.