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We are excited to announce the 2023-2024 ISRI Recycling Contest Winners!

The 2023-24 contest theme challenged participants to improve an existing consumer product using Design for Recycling® principles. We received over 285 submissions from more than 550 students all across the country! On behalf of JASON Learning and ISRI, thank you students and teachers for the incredible work that went into each and every submission. See the poster and video winners, finalists, and honorable mentions below!

Poster Winners

Team Vegas Bound:

“Designing for Recycling: Increasing  Recyclability for Paper Plates”

Emily Arendas, Heather Smarick, Megan Potthoff

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High school seniors Emily Arendas, Megan Potthoff, and Heather Smarick, from Norwin High School in North Huntingdon, PA, created this year’s winning poster submission. Their project redesigned paper plates by adding a bioplastic cover, allowing for the removal of food residue creating an easier recycling process. Their poster explains the new and improved life cycle of their paper plate design while also providing a prototype of what this might look like. 

Thank you to their teacher, Ms. Joyce Muchoney, for supporting her students in submitting this incredible poster! Congratulations!

Video Winners

Team Sustainable Dolls:

“The Sustainable Doll Society”

Sadie Mangal and Luciana Nishanian

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Third-grade students, Luciana Nishanian and Sadie Mangal, from Willow Springs Elementary School in Fairfax, VA, created this year’s winning video submission. Their project explored the life cycle of created sustainable dolls, redesigning the dolls so that each part of the doll is recyclable. This video demonstrates the new recycling process and their reasoning for replacing doll parts to be more sustainable. 

Thank you to their teacher, Ms. Logan Williams for supporting her students in submitting this incredible poster! Congratulations!

Finalists

Submissions that are in the Finalist category scored in the top 2% of all entries.

Congratulations! 

Poster Submissions

The Introverts

Kyerra Dunford, Ema Lewis, Miranda Meadows, Gracie Taylor

Team M & S

Sierra Bailey & Maecey Hercey

Team ALIK

Isabel Cardenas, Ashley Cuz, Kamila Recinos, Lisbeth Rodriguez 

Team AM

Anushka Misra

Video Submissions

The Green Grinners

Nora Almeter, Aria Geadah, Girjia Lotlikar

RecyCrisps

Kate Hussa & Hannah Yum

The Cloggables

Camden Gross, Richard Haney, Reid Turbyfill

Eco-Polymer

Aswath Rajesh

Honorable Mentions

Submissions who are in the Honorable Mention category scored in the top 5% of all entries.

Congratulations! 

Poster Submissions

Planet Protectors

Kira Phipps & Lauren Sevin

Cardboard Bedding

Aubree Bailey

Science Gals

Natalee Bertani & Sydney Reiter 

Sustainability Bag

Abigail Shipley

WMS Blue Time

Jaysa Bentley, Ayla Dose, Dani Stewart, Sarina Wehrman

Recycling Muskateers

Amanda Glass, Evelyn Heritage, Briella Honeck

Big Dawg Designs

Logan Bennett, Braylen Lucas, Robert Silva Fox, Treyvon Symns

The Destroyers

Bentley Abram, Carter Mullins, Wyatt Parks

Pesky Peanuts

Noah Allen, Jaci Mills, Brooklyn Phillips

CMZ

Melani Bailon Bailon, Cassandra Flores, Zaniah Jackson

Video Submissions

The Wind Warriors

Naya Kwatra, Esther Lloyd, Erin Suwangonsakul

Hanger Heroes

Ella Dvorakova, Liv Tripplett, Zahra Zeynal

Under Pressure

Adilyn Geen, Faith Hilgart, Anna Parsons, Hannah Reeder

The Bottle Bros

Asir Al Atbi, Colin Earls, Oumar Tounkara

Future Flip-Flops

Ayla May, Emily Smith, Breahna Yuen

Paper Coffee Cups

Carson Cook & McKenzie McBride

The World Changers

Divya Adhikari, Emaan Mazhar, Kathy Park, Mikayla Wong

PakBlocks

Arnav Bedekar, Ethan Hall, Noah Mulac

Tomorrow Team

Ruby Castillo, Katherine Montgomery, Mckensie Schneider, Sienna Screen

Details of the 2024-25 Recycling Contest will be announced at JASON's National Conference, happening July 1-2, 2024. You can find more information about JNC 2024 here.

Check out our Recycling Activities Collection: Lessons and Resources for Grades K-12!

Designed in partnership with ISRI, the trade association representing the recycling industry, students explore the benefits and challenges of sustainable recycling through a variety of activities ranging from physics and chemistry to engineering and human impacts while becoming informed citizens and careful consumers.

Recycling Activities Collections
Past Contest Winners