Lusk enters Pepsi Refresh contest for student, town recycling project
Lusk – Each month, Pepsi is giving away more than $1 million to 60 ideas that move communities forward. This month the Niobrara Conservation District, Town of Lusk and the Niobrara County High School are teaming up with a “Niobrara Recycles With Pride – Students Build Recycling Trailers” grant proposal.
With the potential to bring $5,000 into the community and provide more recycling options, Niobrara Conservation District Manager Lisa Shaw says she hopes people will log on and vote “yes.”
“We started the original project with the school, and they are building the first recycling trailer, with funding from Wyoming Ag in the Classroom and the Governor’s youth grant,” says Shaw. “Then we decided to try to add another trailer and a series of educational campaigns with the Pepsi money.”
“Voting opened Nov. 1 for the Pepsi Refresh Project, and consumers are encouraged to cast their vote on RefreshEverything.com,” says Shaw, adding that votes are counted daily from Nov. 1-30.
“Mr. Nelson, the Industrial Technology Instructor at the high school, is teaching students to draft plans for projects, take measurements and design and construct them into usable products while gaining lifelong skills,” says Shaw.
The students are building the recycling trailers to place throughout the community.
“We have a trailer that the conservation district and the Town of Lusk purchased six years ago for $10,000, and the kids were able to build this one for under $5,000,” says Shaw. “They’re just about finished with the one they started last year, and they’ll also do a cardboard trailer that’s much simpler.”
“With the closure of the landfill in Manville and Lusk in the very near future, we feel there is a greater need to move the recycling program forward,” says Shaw. “The Town of Manville provided some funding for a multi-bin collection trailer that will come from Manville to Lusk when it is full. The cardboard trailers are being constructed to hold cardboard only, which will be baled and processed with the other recycling materials.”
“The Town of Lusk is working towards a sustainable recycling program and with your votes, we can move forward,” says Shaw. “We live in the least populated county in the least populated state, but with your help we can show Pepsi we are passionate about recycling.”
To vote, visit refresheverything.com/niobrararecycles. For more information, questions or to donate to the recycling program, contact Lisa Shaw at 307-334-2953 x101 or lshaw@wyoming.com. Christy Martinez is managing editor of the Wyoming Livestock Roundup and can be reached at christy@wylr.net.
