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  Celebrating Earth Day and learning about recycling

  Raub Nash helps his son Mason with an arts and craft project, courtesy of Balfour Beatty Communties, while younger brother James watches them work. Families created friendly-looking earthworms during the Recycling Center Open House on April 8, and...

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  Creating Earth-friendly earthworms

  During the Recycling Center Open House at West Point, community members designed their own earth-filled earthworms and enjoyed lunch and other activities at the center.

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  Earth education

  Visitors could enjoy a demonstration from James Beaumont on how water moves underground during the West Point Recycling Center's Open House on April 8.

WEST POINT, N.Y. (April 19, 2011) -- The oohs and aahs almost matched the loud roar of the industrial shredder echoing inside the West Point Recycling Center. Dozens of children from School Age Services were visibly impressed by the gigantic machine as they toured the facility, enjoyed a hearty lunch of hot dogs and created earth-friendly arts and crafts during the Open House on April 8.

Stanley Brown, Recycling Center manager, showed the kids the mechanics behind shredding and compacting recyclable materials, but he also wanted the community to know all the other services they provide.

"The kids are our future, so we want them to learn the importance of recycling and the environment. We're here today to talk recycling and all the ways we process the materials collected at West Point," Brown said.

Beyond the usual paper, cans and bottles, the center also processes government hard drives, toner and ink cartridges and wooden pallets.

"West Point does a good job with recycling, but of course, it has always has a lot of room for improvement. We're getting there, though," Brown, who recently transferred here from Fort Drum. "We're adjusting our routes and distributing more toters around the installation to cover other facilities. We're doing a really good job here."

The event, hosted by the Recycling Center, was supported by the West Point Environmental Office and Balfour Beatty Communities. The center, formerly a Directorate of Public Works tenant, now falls under the Directorate of Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation.

"This is just a good way to let people know what we do here to help the environment," Chris Remillard, FMWR Community Services Branch chief.

Remillard said the open house is a good opportunity to demonstrate how recycling gives back to the community.

"Everything we take into the Recycling Center, we resell to distributors which help generate revenue that goes to fixing the environment here at West Point, and for morale and welfare. It goes back to the community."

One large example of this is the giant rock-climbing wall at the Youth Services building, which was purchased from recycling revenues.

Remillard tracked the recent efforts of the Corps of Cadets as they participated in their first Recyclemania competition. The academy placed 27th in the Per Capital Classic division out of a pool of 363 colleges and universities (to see a Corps of Cadets recycling promotional video, visit (www.youtube.com/user/TheWestPointChannel).

"They did really good for this first year in this competition," Remillard said. "The goal is always to be No. 1, but it's a good start. I hope we can keep this volume up throughout the year. They were very dedicated and I'm going to try to work more with them next year."

The Recycling Center is also sponsoring an Earth Day Poster Contest, with the awards scheduled to be announced on Earth Day, April 22.