Manatee School District Breaks Guinness World Record for Recycling

BRADENTON -- The Guinness World Records organization has informed the Manatee County School District that its recent collection of 29,560 pounds of plastic bottles has officially been approved as a world record for “Most Plastic Bottle Recycled” in an eight-hour period. Recognition of the record was emailed today from Terje Purga of Guiness World Records to the Manatee School District’s Energy and Recycling Department.

The record was set on Thursday, April 26, 2012 during the Manatee District’s 2012 Recycling Round-Up held at Sugg Middle School. Schools from around the district worked together, with event sponsors and the community to achieve this astonishing goal. The record was previously held by a group of schools in China who collected 19,400 pounds of plastic bottles in an eight-hour period.

“This is a great accomplishment for the district and the staff and students of the schools that participated,” said Jennifer Malloy, Energy and Recycling Coordinator for the Manatee District. “This was definitely a learning experience for the students and would not have been possible if it were not for our sponsors."

All total, during the four Recycling Round-Ups held by the Manatee County School District, students and staff have collected approximately 46,760 pounds of plastic bottles that would otherwise have gone into landfills or the local water supply.

Sponsors for the 2012 Recycling Round-UP included Waste Pro, Lockheed Martin, Publix, Coca Cola, SMR Farms, Manatee Apparel Graphics, Starbucks Coffee, Little Caesars Pizza, UF Master Gardeners, Recycled Plastic Factory, Manatee County Government Recycling, Manatee Education Foundation, Keep Manatee Beautiful, SP Recycling, Michael Saunders and Florida Power and Light.