ISRI, JASON Learning introduce auto recycling awareness contest

JASON Learning, Mystic, Connecticut, and the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI), Washington, are holding a contest that invites young people to help build awareness around the different commodities in an automobile that can be recycled.

In the Automobile Recycling Awareness Contest, students in grades 5 through 12 are challenged to research one or more of the commodities that go into making an automobile and find out what happens to each commodity through the automobile recycling process.

Contestants must create an original video or poster in the style of an infomercial or awareness campaign to illustrate the process and challenges that go along with recycling their chosen commodity or commodities into a reusable form. The top video and posters will be used to help educate the public on the commodities that make up automobiles, how they can be recycled to develop other products and the importance of designing automobiles for end-of-life recycling.

“Last year, more than 11.5 million cars in the United States were recycled into commodity grade materials including metals, glass, plastic, rubber and textiles,” says Robin Wiener, president of ISRI. “By exploring automobile recycling in a fun and educational way, this contest gives young people the opportunity to learn about the life cycle and value of every commodity. At the same time, it will encourage many students to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering, and math in fields such as the recycling industry.”

“At JASON we pride ourselves on connecting students with the real professionals working in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) to explore new frontiers and find new solutions to the problems threatening our environment,” says JASON Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Dr. Eleanor Smalley. “The Automobile Recycling Awareness Contest will teach students about the automobile recycling process from some of the industry’s biggest players, and give them the opportunity to think critically about the design and recycling of future automobiles.”

Entries must be submitted by Jan. 15, 2015, and the winners will be selected by March 15, 2015.

For more information about the contest, including how to enter and submit your work, and JASON and ISRI in general, please visit http://jason.org/contests.

JASON Learning is a nonprofit organization that connects students, in the classroom and out, to real science and exploration to inspire and motivate them to study and pursue STEM careers.