GCSU communication students expand battery recycling project to five local schools

By Ian Wesselhoff

G eorgia College & State University mass communication students organized a three-week battery recycling competition, culminating on Earth Day, across all five public Baldwin County K-8 schools.

This is the second iteration of the "Battery Hero" project that Georgia College seniors debuted at Midway Hills Academy last semester. This semester, a new group of 24 students in a public relations planning class helped add four more schools: Lakeview Primary, Lakeview Academy, Midway Hills Primary and Oak Hill Middle School.

With the goal of scaling the campaign even further, four seniors in a strategic campaigns capstone also decorated and installed battery recycling boxes in numerous spots around campus: Parks Hall, Terrell Hall, the Newell-Watts House and Barnes & Noble at Georgia College.

The capstone students designed flyers and decorated the three existing permanent recycle boxes placed by the Sustainability Council - on the first floor of Atkinson Hall, the second floor of the Ina Dillard Russell Library and the first floor of the Saladin Integrated Science Complex - to make them easier to find for students on campus.

Thinking global, acting local

Batteries contain toxic chemicals, often including heavy metals like lead and mercury, which can cause significant environmental pollution if not disposed of properly.

Georgia is one of just 17 states without household battery recycling requirements, according to call2recycle.org, and battery drop-off locations in Baldwin County are scarce.

"Obviously, the goal is collecting as many batteries as we can," said junior Tate Young, one of the GCSU students who visited Lakeview Primary. "But also, we're just trying to account for the world and take care of it, because it is so beautiful and we only have one."

The campaign kicked off in March as Georgia College students began visiting after-school programs at each of the participating schools, introducing nearly 600 kids to the idea that batteries are recyclable. Since the schools represented a variety of grades and ages, the PR students were creative in their approach to get the kids excited about recycling.

"Because PR is about persuasion, right?" said Dr. Mengyao Xu, assistant professor of communication and faculty leader of the project. "Thinking about, 'How old are they? What do they like?' So they figure out what can grab their attention, what will be persuasive for their target audience."

At the end of the collection period, the buckets were weighed during Chick-fil-A catered celebration events at each school. The final celebration took place at Lakeview Primary on Earth Day, April 22, and the total weight of batteries collected across the five schools measured just under 14 pounds.

The project received over $5,500 in funding from Georgia College's Office of Sustainability, and received additional support from university faculty and staff like Dr. Kevin Bucholtz, associate provost of student engagement and academic excellence, Angela Criscoe, executive director of the School of Continuing & Professional Studies, Ashley Copeland, director of the Office of Community Engagement & Belonging, and Sustainability Council members Dr. Michael Hejazi and Dr. Bruce Snyder.

The college-wide support to help students create a real impact in the community illustrates the kind of experiential learning and community partnerships that are hallmarks of GCSU's liberal arts curriculum.

"I think Georgia College does a good job of trying to engage their students with the community in Milledgeville, and I think that it is just a big impact for us to be involved with the community and have these moments with these kids," Young said. "Truly, if I didn't go to Georgia College, I wouldn't be able to do something like this, so it's very rewarding."

Xu says she hopes to eventually have her students implement permanent battery recycling boxes in each school.

"It is illegal to throw away batteries in Europe, so why is it so difficult to recycle batteries in Georgia and in Milledgeville?" Xu said. "I think something needed to be done first by important community members, and GCSU is a very important community member in Baldwin County."

Header Images: Communication students celebrated the fifth and final Battery Hero campaign party at Lakeview Primary School on Earth Day, April 22. The battery collection celebrations at each school included Battery Hero swag like stickers and magnets, plus Chick-fil-A nuggets and cookies. Photos by Ian Wesselhoff.