Addison eighth-graders recycling project leads to White House

It's not often that a junior high science project leads to the White House.

Two Addison eighth-graders will meet President Obama today, possibly to talk with him a little about their award-winning "Recycle Because You Care" project. Thanks directly to the girls' efforts, free 25-gallon recycling bins were distributed throughout Addison in September. Since then, recycling volume has increased 74 percent.

The project not only won two national awards, but also caught the attention of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Maggie O'Brien, Angel Loizzo and Dana Gattone, students at St. Philip the Apostle School, were named winners of the 2010 Region Five President's Environmental Youth Award. Maggie and Angel traveled to Washington, D.C. to accept the honor.

So far, they've met their congressman, U.S. Rep. Peter Roskam, a Republican from Wheaton, and environmentalist Philippe Cousteau. Today, they'll head to the White House with winners from other regions for a photo with the president.

"It's a great opportunity for us to get to talk with him about what we've done and see what he thinks about it and ask him for advice on what we can do next," Angel said.

For their project, the girls conducted an experiment to find out what would motivate their neighbors to recycle. They tested various approaches, and found that a combination of a free recycling bin and a flier explaining how to recycle boosted participation the most.

Allied Waste used the girls' results to obtain a $60,000 grant for the free bins.

The girls' project also won a gold medal in the Christopher Columbus Awards, a science and technology competition for middle school students.

"Neighbors continue to thank them for their efforts and making a difference," said Dawn O'Brien, the team's coach. "And now they are role models to all of the students in our community."