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LAS VEGAS, NV – The Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries Inc. (ISRI) and JASON Learning today presented awards to students in a nationwide contest to spread the word about cell phone recycling.

Students in grades K-12 were asked to either design a poster or make a video to raise people’s awareness that cell phones can (and should) be recycled. Americans discard millions of cell phones annually, and most of them contain precious metals and plastics that can save energy and resources when recycled, but when disposed of improperly, can release toxic materials into the environment.

The students were given the assignment to create an original poster or video in the style of a public service announcement that would convince friends, relatives and others to recycle their old phones rather than throwing them away.

The students submitting the two grand-prize winning entries, representing the overall best poster and video from all grade brackets, received a trip for themselves and a parent or guardian to ISRI’s Annual Convention & Exposition in Las Vegas. The winners were:

• Poster: Leanza S.M. Toves, 13, a 7th grader at Kapolei Middle School Ewa Beach, Hawaii.
• Video: Marlowe Lexvold and Ahnika Lexvold, home-schooled by Roberta Lexvold, in South Haven, Minn.

Additional finalists in the Poster contest were Gabriella McIntosh, 17, a senior at Fort Lauderdale Prep School in Florida; Emily Aikens and Bridget Dowd, fourth-graders at Wyoming Seminary Lower School in Forty Fort, Penn. Reiden Magdaleno, in the sixth grade at Grand Blanc West Middle School in Michigan, and Colette Combs and Sierra Mielens, seventh-graders at Hampstead Academy in New Hampshire, won honorable mentions.

Eli Larsen, another seventh-grader at Hampstead Academy, was a finalist in the Video category, while classmates Isabella Combs and Elizabeth Field received honorable mentions. Also taking an honorable mention was Juan Jose Lujan, in the 12th grade at New Tech Odessa in Texas.

Judges evaluated entries on the interpretation and clarity of the theme to the viewer, the persuasiveness of the message, creativity and originality, the quality of the entry, and the overall impression of the entry.

The finalist videos and posters are featured on JASON and ReMA websites. All finalists will receive a certificate, a full year of JASON online access for the entrant(s) and a parent or teacher/facilitator, and a contest t-shirt. The honorable mention entrants will receive certificates and t-shirts.

“The recycling industry congratulates the winners on their creativity and commitment to raising awareness of the importance of cell phone recycling,” said Robin Wiener, president of ISRI. “The artwork, seen by classmates, family, and communities delivers a strong message that will benefit the environment and economy. It is good to see so many young people getting involved and caring about this important issue.”

“JASON students learn by inquiry, and today many of them have asked questions and shared the answer with others about recycling cell phones,” said JASON Learning Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Eleanor Smalley. “We’re proud that our students can so effectively communicate through their posters and videos what is an environmental benefit for us all.”