Land O’ Lakes, FL – (November 15, 2017) – Fifteen schools participated in Pasco Schools’ A Bag’s Life plastic bag recycling challenge, but one school emerged as the clear victor when the contest closed in honor of America Recycles Day Nov. 15. 

Odessa Elementary School ran away with first place after amassing nearly 2,500 pounds of plastics bags and wraps. The per capita winner was Gulf Trace Elementary School, collecting 1.3 pounds of bags per student.

For winning the A Bag’s Life contest, Odessa and Gulf Trace elementary schools will each be awarded a bench made of recycled plastic bags from contest-sponsor Trex Company. A formal presentation will take place Dec. 4.

In addition to the main contest, A Bag’s Life included two other challenges — a race to collect the most plastic bags by Halloween and an art contest that challenged schools to design their plastic bag collection boxes. Odessa and Gulf Trace elementary schools each won a $100 Walmart gift card for collecting the most bags by Halloween. Lacoochee Elementary School won first place in the box design contest, while Odessa Elementary School took second place; Gulf Trace Elementary School took third place; and Lake Myrtle Elementary School took fourth place. Each of the top three schools will receive a $100 gift card from Walmart, also a sponsor of the Pasco County contest. 

Anclote, Chasco, Double Branch, Denham Oaks, New River, Oakstead, Rodney B. Cox, San Antonio, Sand Pine, and Watergrass elementary schools also participated in the three-month-long contest. Combined, the 15 participating schools collected more than three tons of plastic bags, or about 404,000 individual bags and wraps.

A Bag’s Life is a public education campaign that unites non-profits, businesses and community and government organizations around the common goal of promoting the three R’s — reduce, reuse and recycle — as they relate to plastic bag and film recycling. America Recycles Day is a 20-year program of Keep America Beautiful dedicated to promoting and celebrating recycling nationally. 

Pictured at top right: Students at Rodney B. Cox Elementary in Dade City, Florida, used the A Bag's Life collection competition to learn about the importance of recycling plastic bags and how weight relates to the world around them. From left, Erica Perez Esparza, Tanarion Sims, Melisa Becerra, Makyla Jones and Hallie Anguiano.