CULLMAN, Ala. – The students of the Cullman Area Tech Academy showcased their Pyramid of Plastic project to the Cullman County Commissioners on Thursday. The theme of the project was to use art to encourage recycling.
Chairman Clemons stated, “They’ve been working on this a while. Those kids, they did an amazing job. They are doing a good thing.”
The pyramid includes lists of facts and tips regarding recycling including the time it takes for different types of litter to decompose.
The project was a collaboration between the Carpentry, Welding and Cosmetology programs. The metal bars supporting the pyramid was made by the Welding department, the chicken wire holding the bottles was contributed by the Carpentry students and the bottles were predominantly collected by the students of the Cosmetology program. The groups have been collecting plastic bottles since October.
CATA also received a grant from Cullman Electric Cooperative of $450 for solar panels. The leftover funds were used to purchase solar-power spotlights which light up the pyramid at the Cullman County Courthouse. Carpentry Instructor Mike Burkett stated, “Royal Technologies has collected bottles for us, and Walmart has also collected bottles. So, we’ve got some corporate folks working with us.”
The pyramid will be moved to Wallace State for the month of April and will be part of the Earth Day celebration at the college. Students will be encouraged to add their own bottles to the pyramid while on campus.
The project will also be entered into a SkillsUSA competition in April in the Community Service category. The competition encourages students to educate the public by showing their project at important sites in the community.
Burkett says the project has been a fun way to encourage students to continue to recycle. “The kids are always bringing in bags of plastic bottles from home.”
Copyright 2021 Humble Roots, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
