Peekskill Middle School Students Present Sustainability Project at Wheelabrator Symposium

PEEKSKILL, NY. — (May 15, 2015) — Students from Peekskill Middle School traveled to Maryland last week to present their community sustainability project at the 21st annual Wheelabrator Symposium for Environment and Education.

The annual Symposium tasks student teams from 12 middle schools across the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic and Florida with identifying an environmental issue in their local communities and developing and implementing long-term solutions. During the 4-day Symposium, findings were presented to an audience of more than 200 and a VIP panel of environmental experts and Wheelabrator employees.

Throughout the school year, students in the Peekskill Middle School Environmental Club worked to promote sustainability at Depew Park and conducted a study of Lake Mitchell in an effort to uncover the cause of excessive algae buildup that occurs within the lake. Along with the Lake Mitchell examination, the students worked to clear and preserve sections of the extensive network of trails that cover Depew Park.

Peekskill students also engaged with other teams and shared best practices at the Symposium’s Green Expo. There, the students shared information they gathered with their peers and pledged ways they would help enhance sustainability in their communities moving forward. The trip concluded with a visit to the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History.

“We are so proud of the students and grateful for the support we received from their educators and our panelists,” said Wheelabrator Technologies’ Regional Vice President Peter Kendrigan. “It is a pleasure to work with these young environmentalists who share our passion for stewardship and building sustainable communities.”

Headquartered in Hampton, New Hampshire, Wheelabrator creates clean, renewable energy from everyday residential and business waste. Wheelabrator has a current platform of 15 energy-from-waste facilities, four independent power-producing facilities, four ash monofills and three waste transfer stations. Wheelabrator has an annual waste processing capacity of over 7.4 million tons, and a total combined electric generating capacity of 768 megawatts — enough energy to power more than 645,000 homes. Wheelabrator facilities also recover metals from ash for recycling into commercial products. For more on Wheelabrator, please visit www.wtienergy.com.