Lynbrook South Middle School Recycling Club Helps Red Cross

Story by Rosemary Leonetti:

The Recycling Club became an official after-school activity this year at Lynbrook South Middle School.

Student volunteers meet on Tuesday afternoons to gather paper from recycling containers they had placed in each classroom and various offices throughout the building.

After Hurricane Sandy hit the area, the students started to wonder if they could sell the paper along with recyclable bottles to raise money for the Red Cross.

Seventh-grader Mikayla Layng contacted a number of recycling companies to inquire about the idea. When Leo Moreira -- the owner of Indigo Plastics of Hicksville -- learned that the club was trying to raise money for victims of Sandy, he offered to pick up the materials the students collected and donate 100 percent of the profits back to the club.

Seventh-grader Alex Mertz stored the materials at his home for several months until the weekly collections added up to a truckload.

Representatives from Indigo Plastics picked up the recycled paper and bottles and stopped by South Middle School to congratulate the students on their hard work.

Photo: (Back row, L-R): David Carlos of Indigo Plastics, club adviser Joan Kearon, students Mikayla Layng, Dan Marzari, Alex Mertz and Shania Jennings, and Gabriel Moreira of Indigo Plastics. (Middle row, L-R: students Daniel Silva, Nelson Mei, Katherine Stewart, Sireena Ramgopal and Michelle Figueroa. (Front row, L-R): students Connor Reichert, James Luongo, Elise Candreva and Abigail Artz.