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A-Train Puts Kids On Track To Recycle

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By COURTNEY CAIRNS PASTOR cpastor@tampatrib.com

The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 19, 2008

NINE EAGLES - Taylor Baccili held up her hand with reverence.

"This is my Mike Alstott hand," the 9-year-old said.

Taylor, a fourth-grader, and the former Buccaneer exchanged high-fives Nov. 12 at Bryant Elementary after Alstott spoke to her class.

Alstott teamed up with Waste Management to promote recycling. Hillsborough, Pinellas, Manatee and Sarasota counties this month started accepting cartons - such as milk, juice and broth - along with other recyclables. Tampa already accepts those cartons.

Alstott talked to fourth- and fifth-graders at Bryant about the importance of recycling and asked them to hold up the orange juice and milk cartons they had been sipping.

"We have a responsibility after we get done drinking those," he said. He stood next to a recycling bin as children lined up to toss crumpled milk and juice containers, and he cheered them on with high-fives and praise.

Alstott, a father of three, said his family makes sure to recycle at home, and his oldest, Griffin, reminds him and his wife if they slip up.

"He's really concerned about litter and picking up and recycling," Alstott said. "Kids - they really get into it."

Bryant students have been recycling in their classrooms throughout the school year. Bins are in each classroom, and a team of students empty them weekly.

It's important, said 9-year-old Emily Bosworth "so we can save the environment." Emily, a fourth-grader, researched recycling for a speech and said she learned that aluminum cans come from mining, which can damage the earth.

Katelyn Rosenblum, 9, said recycling would give them a "prettier world."

Katelyn, who is also in fourth grade, wasn't sure who to expect when she heard that Alstott was coming to talk to her class about recycling. But her father asked her to find out why he was nicknamed the "A-Train." She got her chance at the end of the presentation.

"That's a good question," Alstott told her, and explained that his alma mater was Purdue University, also known as the Boilermakers. People combined the Boilermakers train logo with his last name, resulting in "A-Train."

Alstott said recycling was like playing on a football team - everyone needed to work together for success. He encouraged them to spread the word: "You have to tell all of your families, all of your neighbors, all your friends in our community to do what?"

"Recycle," the children yelled.

Reporter Courtney Cairns Pastor can be reached at (813) 865-1503.

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