I’m a firm believer that recycling should be part of our daily lives and that teaching future generations to recycle is something we all should commit to. That’s why I was thrilled to be a part of the culminating event for the Read, Write, Recycle program, a recycling challenge in the West Covina Unified School District, supported by the plastic industries of the American Chemistry Council, the San Gabriel Valley Conservation Corps and Keep California Beautiful.

Three elementary schools in the West Covina Unified School District – Merced Elementary, Vine Elementary and Cameron Elementary – competed to recycle the most materials during a two-month period. The school that recycled the most would be awarded a first place cash prize and a pizza party, while the other two would receive second and third place cash prizes.

I had the pleasure of attending the award celebration and saw first-hand the positive effects recycling programs like Read, Write and Recycle have on our children. This program achieved its goal of encouraging students to protect the environment while at school and educating students on the importance of recycling at home and in our community.

These three schools achieved remarkable results, collecting an impressive 11,014.2 pounds of recyclable materials, including 2,220.3 pounds of plastics, making our community and world a greener and nicer place to live. The winning school, Merced Elementary brought in over 4,514 pounds of material themselves.

I congratulate the participating school’s students, teachers and staff on a job well done and commend the supporting organizations, the American Chemistry Council, San Gabriel Valley Conservation Corps and Keep California Beautiful for their dedication to increasing recycling efforts. It was a honor to be a part of this successful program.

Senator Dr. Ed Hernandez, O.D. ­­­­­­currently represents the 24th Senate District, which includes the cities of Azusa, Baldwin Park, Covina, La Puente, West Covina, Irwindale, Industry, as well as Avocado Heights, Bassett, Citrus, North Whittier, Valinda and other unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County.