The FFA students will begin a paper recycling program with teachers who recently signed up for recycling bins. They will receive community service hours for each drop off, and the program will officially begin in the next few weeks.

“Each year the FFA is tasked with coming up with a community service project,” FFA advisor Casey Jones said. “During our officer retreat and yearly planning, we discussed at length how to make an impact in the school and eventually the community. When surveying teachers about who would like to participate, approximately 35 teachers signed up, so we decided to go through with the program.”

Small collection receptacles will be placed in the classrooms, while larger recycling bins will be in the teacher’s lounge. Once a week, FFA members will go around to each classroom and teacher work room to collect the paper, and at the end of each month, they will haul the paper to the Tyler Recycling Center.

“Currently, our school does not have a recycling program nor does the Lindale community,” Jones said. “Therefore, we hope to expand in the future.”

The program is meant only for paper. It provides an opportunity to reduce waste that enters the landfill and promotes an activity that anyone can participate in and make a difference in the world.

“FFA works to build leaders for our future,” Jones said. “Being able to implement a recycling program today that will make for a better tomorrow will help us do that. FFA members are taught responsibility and integrity on a daily basis and them being able to see the fruits of their labor and that they can make a difference in the lives of others helps to make them the leaders they are meant to be.”