CALGARY — The holiday season may be over, but the giving isn’t done for students at a Calgary elementary school.
They’re now turning Christmas castoffs into a present for the planet.
The kids at Chinook Park School are busy rounding up strings of old lights, preparing to take them to a recycling depot.
The burned-out bulbs will be salvaged there, and the metal will eventually be reused for piping and wire; the rubber casings are destined to become flip flops and shoes.
The students will then use the money they get from the depot to make a donation to an environmental charity, possibly to help polar bears.
“We’re giving them a present by saving their world,” said grade one student Liam.
The kids are hoping people will bring in a lot more lights.
As grade 5 student Julia put it, “It’s just disappointing that so many people throw them out and they just go to the landfill, when you can reuse them.”
If you’d like to drop off any Christmas lights, the recycling drive continues until the end of January at Chinook Park School in southwest Calgary.