Washington School PTA awarded $6,000 Recycle Montana grant 2024

For the last few years, Recycle Montana and the Zeller-Knowles Foundation have offered grants to schools or school organizations to purchase or rehab trailers to be used for recycling. Past recipients include Big Sandy High School, Superior High School Ski Club and Twin Bridges FFA. Schools applied online at the Recycle Montana website with the Recycle Montana Board selecting the winning grant application.

The 2024 winner selected in December, Washington Middle School PTA of Missoula, submitted an interesting grant proposal that will rehab a trailer, “Big Red”, owned by Recycling Works. The recycling trailer collects glass which in part has funded projects for several schools in Missoula at an average of $1,000 per month.

For the last five years, “Big Red” has collected glass through twelve residential routes, commercial glass pick-up, as well as drop off events in Superior, Glacier Park, Hamilton, Seeley Lake, and Missoula. Recycle Montana Executive Director, Candi Zion said, “There are only a few operations in Montana that accept glass for recycling. It is a tough commodity to recycle because of cleanliness, breakage, and weight. By offering glass recycling, Recycling Works helps keep bulky, non-compostable glass out of the landfills and ensures the material cycles back into production.”

“Big Red’s” owner, Ted Geilen, states because of the trailer, “Recycling Works has given over $60,000 in donations, including $2,000 in grants to the Washington Middle School PTA in the past. The trailer has hauled over three million pounds of glass to a processing center. The glass is then made into new products in Salt Lake City. After millions of pounds and the equivalent driving distance of four trips around the earth at the equator, this well-loved recycling trailer needs repairs and upgrades.”

Zion states, “We are delighted to fund this worthy project. ‘Big Red’ needs repairs because of the incredible wear and tear she has experienced. We want to see her continue to recycle glass and financially help the schools.”

Washington School will be honored with a check presentation at the open-to-the-public Recycle Montana Recycling Legislative Event March 4^th in the Capitol Rotunda, Helena.

Big Sandy High School and Superior High School Ski Club win the 2023 Recycling Trailer Grant Funding

The Zeller Family Foundation and nonprofit organization, Recycle Montana, teamed up to award schools funding for the purchase of a trailer to be utilized for recycling. Schools were given an opportunity to apply in 2023 online at the Recycle Montana website with the winners selected in January of 2024.

Executive Director of Recycle Montana, Candi Zion stated, “This is our second year to give money to a school for a recycling trailer. The first year, Big Timber FFA retrofitted an older trailer that they use for community and school events. We had such a hard time selecting a winner for 2023 that we decided to pick two; Big Sandy and Superior High Schools. It worked out perfectly as both of their grant application budgets, together, totaled just about what we had to offer.”

Big Sandy High School teacher, Shersteen Cline, submitted their new start application which proposed a “from the ground up” recycling program. Shersteen claims, “We currently do not have one, but I believe that our school would benefit greatly from an opportunity like this. I am a business teacher, and I’m hoping to establish a school-based enterprise that involves recycling among other things. Not only would this help our school “go green”, but it would help students plan and implement a sustainable, school-based business, helping them learn and hopefully increase pride in their school.”

They plan to purchase and retrofit a used trailer and will advertise the availability of the trailer for recycling in their school and community and for events and activities. Paper, plastic and aluminum will be collected with expansion plans to include scrap metal and electronics.

Superior High School’s Ski Club and Carissa Kuhl, Superior Elementary School Counselor, wrote their application to expand an existing recycling program for the benefit of the Club. Their plan involves using the trailer to collect recyclables at events such as the St. Patrick’s Day Festival, Mineral County Fair and Rodeo, and Mineral County Rec. Club Paddle Board Race. They partnered with the Superior Recycling Center and will collect plastic and aluminum to be processed at the Center.

In the application Carissa states, “This mobile unit will provide an efficient and functional way for our Ski Club students to fulfill their campus service-learning project of providing recycling to all staff, students, and visitors on our campus, replacing our current system. The aluminum cans collected will be turned in for reimbursement, which will be used to pay costs that may create obstacles for youth recreating with our Ski Club.”

They propose to create a community reservation calendar for partners to check-out this “mobile unit”. They plan to advertise its availability until it becomes a familiar fixture in the community. 

L to R : Darrell Sunchild, Teagen Cochran, Kodi Boone, & Abbey Sietsema with the school’s check from Recycle Montana. Photo provided by Shersteen Cline

L to R: Liam Wheeler, Jacqi Mueller, Rainier Acker, Josie Crabb, Henry Hanson, Audra Post, Tyler Brown with the school’s check from Recycle Montana. Photo provided by Carissa Kuhl

We wish to thank the Thelma and John Zeller Inc Foundation courtesy of Randy Knowles for helping Recycle Montana make this financial award possible to the high school in Montana with the best grant application in 2022. Thank you! 

Twin Bridges FFA, with Colton Hellwinkel at the helm, is the winner of the grant and will be refurbishing and retrofitting a used trailer, a theme in keeping with our promotion of the "Rs", to enhance and create more recycling opportunities for their high school and community. They believe the recycling trailer will not only provide a means to grow and expand their existing efforts to promote environmental stewardship within the community, but also will allow their students to take a leadership approach to building community connections. With the trailer, they plan to serve the needs of the FFA, BPA, Madison County Fair/ Rodeo Grounds, Twin Bridges, Veterans, Highway Cleanup program, Senior Citizens Center, County Food Bank, 4H, Twin Bridges Floating Flotilla, Twin Bridges Elementary School and more. The Twin Bridges FFA chapter currently collects school paper waste for the district and plans to expand their program in collecting cardboard, plastics, aluminum, and large-scale salvage steel from the community. Congratulations to Twin Bridges FFA, winner of the $10,000 Recycle Montana Recycling Trailer Grant!