SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - J.H. Sissons School, with help from the parent advisory board, has started a pilot project with the city's solid waste management committee that led to the placement of a high quality blue box at the school.

But making the project feasible took a few years and a lot of dedication, said principal Paul Bennett.

"We have made a few attempts at the program, and have messed it up," he said.

In the beginning, they had students sorting the bins on site at the school, but eventually parents started taking the recyclables to the dump to be sorted.

"The parents have been just incredible," Bennett said. "They do what they do because it is something they believe in. It gives the right message to their children."

The $12,000 blue bin was put in the parking lot of the school in the middle of May, and Grade 5 students have been helping to ensure all paper recyclables are placed in the receptacle since then.

If the program works out over the next school year, it may become commonplace in schools around the city, said Dennis Kefalas, director of Public Works.

"So much work has gone into this project from the start, and (the parent advisory committee) was able to show us how many paper recyclables they are recovering," he said. "We thought if they had their own bin, it would make things easier and more efficient for them."

With only a few weeks left in the school year, the project will have to continue next year before the city will be able to decide whether to extend the program into other schools.

If the program is successful, the next step is getting funding and finding out whether schools have the space required to house the blue bins, Kefalas said.

Even after only a few weeks, Bennett is sure that the project will continue to prosper.

"I don't think it will work; I guarantee it will work," he said.