Crestwood students learn about a hydraulic press (Lisa Parent/CHAT News)

By Lisa Parent

‘I saw a car get crushed’: Crestwood students learn about the importance of metal recycling on field trip

May 1, 2024 | 4:36 PM

Grade 5 Crestwood students on Wednesday went on a field trip to learn more about metal recycling at Silver Creek Recycling.

The students were introduced to the yard by flattening a car using a lid crusher.

“I saw a car get crushed and then it’s flat like a pancake,” Crestwood student Otto Bassett told CHAT News.

Vehicle being crushed by hydraulic press

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Michael Sabados said: “It was really interesting. I liked the fact that it was still the same weight, but way smaller than it was before.”

“It kind of felt like magic,” Grace Young added.

Later, the students learned how an electromagnet can pick up and drop heavy materials.

Electromagnet picking up materials

“They differ from just regular magnets because regular magnets, they always stick, but the electromagnets, you can turn them on and off with the electricity,” Sabados said.

Bradyn Luba, a manager at Silver Creek Recycling said many understand the importance of paper and plastic recycling, but they want to draw awareness to metal recycling, too.

“Everybody pictures a landfill, or dirty, messy and we just kind of want to break that image and just show them that it’s clean and we’re organized, efficient,” Luba explained.

Ranking it as his second favorite field trip ever, Sabados may even consider metal recycling as a career path one day.

“I mean, if hockey or baseball doesn’t work out, probably,” he said.

Luba said seeing the kids excitement about his every-day job, put things into perspective.

“The novelty wore off for us a little while ago, smashing things all day,” Luba said.

“It is fun, it’s therapeutic, but yeah it’s good to see the smile on all their faces and them lighting up again. It’ll maybe bring a little bit of a spark back to us, too.”