Recycling the PATE Way is an initiative designed to increase the amount of paper that is being recycled rather than being thrown in the garbage. A group of 4th and 5th grade students visit their assigned classrooms weekly to retrieve the collection box. Students bring their boxes to the library to be weighed and from there, students record the weights in their journal and also in the Excel document they created.

Classes recycling the most paper each week have their class name announced on the PA system by their assigned student. Classes recycling the most paper for the month receive various incentive. The class recycling the most paper at end-of-year will receive a pizza party. 

AM Pate has recycled 2,776.50 lbs of paper through mid-May 2012, saving about 33.3 trees.

(24 trees = 1 ton of paper = 2,000 lbs = 83.3 lbs per tree) Reference: http://conservatree.org/learn/EnviroIssues/TreeStats.shtml