Hannaford, CLYNK Reveal Winners of Maine Recycles Championship

The Lincoln Academy Climate Action Club in Newcastle has won the grand prize of $2,000 for the first-tier category (400 students or more) and Crossroads Christian School has received the grand prize in the second tier (fewer than 400 students) in the Maine Recycles Championship, the first-ever statewide recycling contest for schools, which was sponsored by Scarborough-based Hannaford Supermarkets and CLYNK, a South Portland-based vendor of self-serve kiosks that make it easier for shoppers to recycle.

For eight weeks, more than fifty local schools competed to collect and “CLYNK” the most bottles and cans (per enrolled student). Representatives from Hannaford, which is a division of Salisbury, N.C.-based Delhaize America, and CLYNK presented award checks and plaques to the winning schools.

“The whole school came together to help, and now we'll use the prize money to add to our array of solar panels on the school roof,” said Charlie Scimone, a science teacher at Lincoln Academy and adviser to the Climate Action Club.

The other first-tier winners were Mallett School in Farmington ($1,000 for second place) and Harriet Beecher Stowe Elementary in Brunswick ($500 for third place). In the second tier, Cliff Island School in Portland nabbed second place and $1,000, and The Riley School in Rockport Township came in third and received $500. A complete list of school standings and the environmental impact of their recycling is available online.

CLYNK CEO Clayton Kyle said that the company plans to make the Maine Recycles Championship an annual event. “We were impressed by the enthusiasm of the students and the teachers,” he noted. “They raised money for their schools, while raising awareness about recycling.”