GREENFIELD — The performing “trashologist” asked the auditorium of students: who knows what compost makes?
The group of Federal Street Elementary School and Math and Science Academy students shot up their hands. “Soil!” the student picked said.
Monday morning, returning back from spring break, students from these two schools were entertained with a performance in celebration of Earth Day, presented by the Springfield Materials Recycling Facility.
Students watched Jack Golden, on stage, perform “Garbage is My Bag,” an informational, but humorous, sketch on how to recycle and compost.
“How do we make less garbage?” Golden challenged the students. He then presented different ways to recycle and what can and cannot be thrown in a blue bin.
“A lot of what we call garbage is too good to be thrown away,” Golden said. “A lot of what we call garbage can be recycled.”
He drew an analogy for the kids, saying that recycling is as easy and putting your clothes away or sorting the dishes. Once a person gets the hang of it and finds a routine, it’s a simple task, he said.
The value of recycling came across to some of the students, like Math and Science Academy fifth-grader Shaun Turner.
“It’s pretty important because we don’t want our landfills to get full,” Turner said.
Students were entertained with different jokes and stunts by Golden, like juggling oversized forks and spoons to wash and talking about composting a banana peel.
The two schools were chosen to watch the performance because they both currently participate in composting programs.
“You guys have a great opportunity to affect the Earth in a positive way every single day when you eat breakfast and lunch,” said Amy Donovan, program director of the Franklin County Solid Waste Management District and on the board with the Springfield recycling center.
“Hopefully by educating them about doing it daily in the classroom that it’ll become a habit,” MSA fifth-grade teacher Diana Hastings said. “You’ll prefer that than doing something else.”
Right now, the school composts its applicable food waste from its breakfast, snacks and lunch. The hope is that when the Math and Science Academy moves into Greenfield Middle School this fall that the composting program will remain — despite the middle school not currently participating in the grant-funded program.
“I hope that Mr. Tashjian will be willing to try it,” Hastings said about the Greenfield Middle School principal. “If GMS can get on board, I think that would be awesome.”
The performance highlighted the value of recycling paper, metals and plastic. Golden made a distinction about plastic, noting that on the bottom of most plastic bottles and containers there is a triangle with a number in it that denotes what type of plastic it is and how it can be recycled. From town to town, plastic recycling rules about plastic can differ, Golden said.
For families hoping to educate their kids about recycling, Golden will be performing “Garbage is My Bag” at the Shea Theater, Sunday, June 4, at 2 p.m. Tickets are $10 and children enter for free with a parent or guardian.
You can reach Joshua Solomon at:
jsolomon@recorder.com
413-772-0261, ext. 264