Brookhaven’s recycling bins are in place ahead of an August rollout date for the program, and a local church has been doing its part to encourage participation in the environmental effort.

     St. Paul’s Missionary Baptist Church held its Vacation Bible School in June with a theme of encouraging children to engage with the natural world around them.

     “God gave us the earth,” said Sue Smith, who helped coordinate the program. “We should take care of it.”

     Children were encouraged to collect cell phones, eyeglasses and plastic bottles and bring them to the church during VBS. Younger children participating in VBS were able to plant several crepe myrtles on the church property.

     The cell phones and eyeglasses will be donated to organizations that refurbish or recycle them.

     The plastic bottles will be deposited into the city’s recycling bins. The children brought enough bottles to fill up three large garbage bags.

     With an average attendance at VBS of approximately 70, Smith hopes the church program will help encourage strong participation in the city’s recycling efforts.

     “If we’re going to take care of the earth, we need to start,” Smith said.

     For VBS participant Jordan Shelby, 14, the church program reinforced what she’s been learning at home.

     “We recycle all the time at my house,” said Shelby. “You don’t want to put waste back into the earth.”

     Jordan Shelby’s mother, Joyce Shelby, explained that the family keeps their plastic bottles and plastic bags to take to recycling receptacles at Walmart.

     “We were drinking so much water, rather than throw them away we saved them,” Joyce Shelby said.

     Joyce Shelby was also involved in coordinating the church’s VBS program. She thinks it’s important for church’s to have a role in promoting recycling and similar programs.

     “Everything belongs to God, but we have started to abuse his gifts,” she said. “We want kids to come in, respect what Hhe had done.”

     Shelby believes the program was a success.

     “(The kids) are still wanting to bring the bottles,” she said.

     Jerita Baker, 12, didn’t come from a family that recycled like Shelby’s, but she got her involved with her VBS project.

     “We washed bottles out and brought them,” Baker said.

     Baker said she plans to continue saving bottles to put into the city’s recycling bins.

     Baker and others like her can begin right now.

     Though the recycling kickoff isn’t officially scheduled until Aug. 1, the bins are in place, available and open for any city residents who wish to begin utilizing them. Signs explaining what materials are accepted in the bins should be up by Monday, said Ward Six Alderman David Phillips.

     “We want to be able to work out any kinks before Aug. 1,” Phillips said.

     Paper and cardboard products, tin and aluminum cans and plastic bottles can all be placed into the bins. The city is utilizing a single stream recycling system that does not require local residents to sort the materials before they are placed into the bins.

     Glass will not be accepted at the bins.

     The bins are located at the Central Fire Station on Brookhaven Street and Fire Station No. 2 on Willard Street.

     Smith will be taking the bottles collected by the children to the Willard Street location, but beyond that plans personal participation.

     “I had been reading about (recycling), but never doing it,” Smith said.

     Smith hopes to eventually see curbside recycling come to Brookhaven if the pilot program proves successful.

     “We just need to be more conscious,” Smith said. “It takes the people to be involved to be successful.”