May 15, 2026 Local Stories in and Around St. Joseph, Illinois

Kids’ recycling project leads to three new benches at local parks

The residents of St. Joseph will have three new benches to sit on.


The village has bought three benches for no more than $1,000 from Prince of Peace Community Early Learning Center and the center has already donated two benches to the village which are at Kolb Park.

The three new benches will be at the Sports Complex.

The Prince of Peace students have been collecting bottle cap and lids which are then turned into benches.

Diane Williams, the Director of Prince of Peace Community Early Learning Center, said students learn collecting, sorting, math and facts about recycling by collecting the lids.


“Any age can partake in it,” Williams said.

The kids are participating in the ABC Program which is a program by Green Tree Plastics for school children to learn about caring for the earth and green living. The children are the primary workers on the project and do the majority of the collecting, sorting and tallying of the weight collected.

When the kids have collected enough caps and lids a bench can be ordered.
Caps that can be collected include medicine bottle lids, milk jug ids, detergent caps, hair spray caps, caps from toothpaste, deodorant, applesauce pouches, drink bottles, ketchup, mustard, spray paint, baby food and shampoo and conditioner.

They can also accept lids from cottage cheese containers, mayonnaise jars, yogurt, peanut butter jars and coffee cans.

Williams said the benches last a lifetime.

Mayor Tami Fruhling-Voges said she supported the project.

“It is a great opportunity to work with the early learning center,” she said. “I like the idea that its recyclable and its a good learning opportunity for the village.”

Lids can be dropped off at the village hall lobby or they can be dropped off at the learning center.

“Caps can be brought to our front door, ring the bell, and we can let them in,” Williams said.

in People
Banner
Related Posts

Deadline approaching for Pageant

May 27, 2019

May 27, 2019

The deadline to compete in the Champaign County Fair Queen and Little Miss Pageant is this week. The Champaign County...

Senior spotlight…. Payton Clements

January 17, 2020

January 17, 2020

What are your post high school plans? After high school, I plan on attending Bradley university and majoring in environmental...

Allen reflects on state pageant

March 11, 2019

March 11, 2019

Gracyn Allen has been the Champaign County Fair Queen for almost eight months. Her 2019 has included everything from competing...

10 Things You Don’t Know About Me… Kent Brown

February 7, 2019

February 7, 2019

Every week we ask a community member to share 10 facts about themselves. This week it is St. Joseph resident...

Kids say… what does a farmer do all day?

January 15, 2020

January 15, 2020

We asked students to tell us what they think a farmer does all day. Here are their answers. Bailey: I...

St. Joseph youth Dalton revs it up at motocross nationals

July 29, 2019

July 29, 2019

This week, Tristan Dalton is trying to become a national champion. The 11-year-old St. Joseph resident is competing at the...

10 things you don’t know about me… Chandler Dalton

October 20, 2019

October 20, 2019

This week the director of St. Joseph-Ogden’s Fall Drama Production “Trap” tells us 10 things we don’t know about her!...

Bringing Boston to St. Joseph: Jones to complete virtual marathon Monday throughout villages

September 5, 2020

September 5, 2020

Alison Jones has competed in the Boston Marathon before. On Monday, she will participate in the storied event — just...

Kids Say…. What do you think a farmer does?

December 23, 2019

December 23, 2019

We ask students to tell us what they think a farmer does each day. Here are their answers. What do...

SJO student creates program to help the food insecure

December 23, 2021

December 23, 2021

Kirsten Schaefer wants to help feed her neighbors. Schaefer, a junior at St. Joseph-Ogden High School, created the Feeding Your...

Former rivals give back with youth girls’ basketball program

January 22, 2019

January 22, 2019

Growing up, Andrea Flenniken was a Spartan. Flenniken graduated from St. Joseph-Ogden High School in 1996 and played girls’ basketball...

‘We lost a very good man in Jim Cotter’

September 2, 2021

September 2, 2021

Jim Cotter loved to brag about his kids. This past Saturday was no exception. Cotter took time out from covering...

10 things you don’t know about me… Jeff Damler

May 27, 2022

May 27, 2022

Jeff Damler, is the Senior Vice President, Loan Officer, Branch Manager at Longview Bank in St. Joseph. Here are 10...

5 things you don’t know about me…..Campbell Flessner

August 7, 2019

August 7, 2019

Campbell is in the running for the title of Little Princess! She is six years old. We asked her to...

10 things you don’t know about me… Taylor Baldner

January 29, 2020

January 29, 2020

This week we asked Taylor Baldner of Taylor-Made Photography to tell us 10 things about herself. Baldner has recently joined...

Comments
Leave a Reply