O'Donnell, a member of Scout Troop 35, found a way to help the residents of Sheffield continue with their recycling activity at the Elk Street shed, which was the sole option for collecting aluminium cans during COVID. However, with time, the old can shed started overflowing, as a result of which, residents found it difficult to recycle their aluminium cans. The Scout Troop 35 empties the bins and transports them to the recycling centre.
"That's what prompted me to start the project. The old can shed would be overflowing in less than two weeks once COVID had people staying indoors so much more. It was overflowing constantly. Bags of cans were piled on top. Sheffield needed a more efficient recycling system for aluminum cans," said O'Donnell, a senior at Sheffield Area High School and a member of the Scout Troop 35.
The project took over 100 hours, including planning, design, and construction. With the support of the other scout members, O'Donnell designed another recycling bin. Visitors who wanted to recycle aluminium cans could now visit the location of the previous recycling facility and place their recyclable cans in one of the two bins.
"The money goes back into the individual scouts who help out and is put towards summer camp and other scouting activities," added O'Donnell.
The chores linked to recycling are typically handled by more than three Scouts. Some people empty the trash cans. Others retrieve non-recyclable goods, swap out the bags, gather debris from the bins, and transport the cans in their sealed, full bags.
“It means a lot in terms of leadership and determination. It took years of working to reach this goal, but, like I said at my Eagle ceremony, I didn’t and couldn’t do it alone. It may be my rank and my idea for a project, but once you get into the much more difficult requirements for Eagle, most of them take some teamwork to accomplish,” mentioned O’Donnell.
Responses
