STC's recycling program growing

WESLACO — A group of students at South Texas College's Mid-Valley campus are doing their part to help promote environmental awareness.

Dr. Debbie Villalon said the biology club has undertaken a number of projects to help recycle various items in the school's community garden. This semester, with the help of Villalon and the education department, the students began to recycle bottle caps.

Villalon said she proposed the project while the group was searching for its latest idea.

"I threw it out there, I just said ‘what else can we recycle and how can we use it,'" Villalon said, adding that a similar project was successful at Texas A&M University. "They thought it was a great idea."

So far, Villalon said students have collected a large box of the caps, but that more are required to fuel the project.

"I don't think we'll have problems collecting as long as everybody contributes," she said.

The ultimate goal is to use the caps to complete the bird and butterfly and children's walkway in the community garden.

But for right now, Villalon said the club is trying to use the caps to pave a trail in the garden by April 18 in time for the Environmental Education Fair - a joint project between the biology club and the education club.

Villalon said the biology club uses recycled products in a number of ways around the garden, including the spreading of crushed glass to prevent the growth of weeds in the dedication garden. The garden contains Texas Stones, which were originally sold as a fund-raiser for $25 each. Villalon said the group sold 55 stones and the funds were used to purchase more plants for the garden.
In addition to collecting bottle caps, Villalon said STC biology instructor Jaime Rodriguez is helping students construct their own glass tumbler to crush the hundreds of recycled bottles into material that can be used in the garden.

For more information, please contact Villalon at dvillalon@southtexascollege.edu or (956) 973-7638.