Recycling scholarship helps students and the environment

As many Arizona high school seniors look ahead to college, the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality wants to help them pay for it, while also helping protect the environment.

Recently, ADEQ established the Arizona Recycling Scholarship Program, which will award scholarships of $1,000 each to five high school seniors to help pay for fees, books or tuition at a university or community college in Arizona.

The program encourages Arizona students to think about how to protect our environment, while helping them meet the escalating costs of college. All Arizona high school students in their senior year are eligible to apply for the scholarships.

Like the traditional “Three R’s” of education (reading, ‘riting and ‘rithmetic), ADEQ’s scholarship program is based on three “R’s” of environmental protection: reduce, reuse and recycle.

Under the program, interested students will submit a proposal outlining a waste reduction, reuse or recycling project that they will conduct at their school or in their community during April 2006, when Earth Day is celebrated. The types of projects that can be proposed are limited only by the students’ imagination (as long as they relate to one of more of the Three R’s). A student’s proposal should describe the project, its goal and how it will be implemented. The proposal also must include a timeline of the project and how the results of the project will be measured.

Proposals must be submitted to ADEQ no later than Jan. 30. The five scholarship winners will be announced during February.

ADEQ will select the winners based on the written proposals submitted. ADEQ will judge the proposals by creativity, practicality and how well they help improve the environment of the school or community.

ADEQ will provide the scholarship funds to the students after receiving proof of their enrollment at a community college or university within the state of Arizona.

ADEQ believes that high school students care about the environment and have good ideas about how to improve it. The new Arizona Recycling Scholarship Program offers a great way for high school seniors to cope with the ever-increasing cost of college while doing something good for our state and our environment. It’s a win-win for us all.

For more information on ADEQ’s Recycling Scholarship Program and how to apply, please contact ADEQ at 602-771-4711 or 800-234-5677, ext. 771-4711. Information, including the application form, is also available on ADEQ’s web site, www.azdeq.gov.

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