Hawaiian Teens Recycle to Help Students Reach College | leisure

“That way, it could help a lot more local families, a lot more people across the generations,” Price said. The 13-year-old from Oahu founded Bottles4College three years ago.

The goal is to collect and recycle 2 to 4 million cans and bottles annually to finance tuition fees for up to two students. Price said his project “gained momentum” during the coronavirus pandemic.

“People saw this as a way to give local families a chance, especially since the pandemic hit everyone so hard, especially the children,” he said. At the same time, they would protect the environment and keep their island clean.

His mother, Maria Price, remembered starting walking around beaches, baseball games, and Little League parks, “just asking people if they’re done with their drinks” to collect their bottles and cans, which he did help sorted with his parents.

Since then, he has collected more than 100,000 bottles and cans and has been supported by businesses and schools by setting up dispensing depots at locations such as Mililani Uka Elementary School, Kualoa Ranch Conservation Area, and SW King Intermediate School, which he attends.

“Hawaii already has a very high cost of living. COVID made it even more difficult, ”he said. “I want to pave the way for students who may not … have been able to go to college on their own.”

Bottles4College is based on four pillars: education, environment, community and lifestyle. “We help the environment by recycling,” he said. “We help education by providing scholarship funds to Hawaiian children and inspiring them to get a good education. And then you bring communities together. “

It’s a lifestyle, he said, because the other pillars become part of your life.

The budding eighth grader is also an aspiring filmmaker; He made a documentary highlighting his work.

He also posts videos on YouTube including tips on sorting cans and bottles and encouraging others to recycle.

“We still have a little way to go to get to the place we want to be, but it’s definitely exciting. Every can counts, it’s a can or a bottle, ”he said.

In difficult times, it is even more important to take care of others, he said.

“At school, they teach you how to treat other people the way you would like to be treated,” he said. “And this phrase really comes into play at a time like the pandemic.”

“One Good Thing” is a series that highlights people whose actions provide a spark of joy in difficult times – stories of people who find a way to make a difference, no matter how small. Read the collection of stories below https://apnews.com/hub/one-good-thing