Open to students, K-12, attending a school in the Oro Loma Sanitary District

For the eleventh year in a row, Oro Loma Sanitary District and Waste Management are sponsoring an Earth Day Poster Contest. The contest is free and open to all students attending a school located within the Oro Loma Sanitary District.

This year's contest slogan is: Cool Schools Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. Students must create a poster that shows how students, teachers, and administrators can practice the 3 Rs of recycling -Reduce, Reuse, Recycle - at school. The contest kicks off on January 18, 2005. The entry deadline is March 18, 2005. A list of cash winners in each grade category will be announced on the contest hotline at (510) 613-2855. The specific placement of winners within each grade category will be unveiled at an awards ceremony on May 10, 2005.

Prizes are as follows: First Place $500, Second Place $300, Third Place $200, Honorable Mention (two awarded) $100. Prizes will be awarded to the winning students in each of six grade groups: K-1, 2-3, 4-5, 6-8, 9-10, 11-12. Matching cash prizes will be awarded to the winning students' schools. Certificates of Merit will be presented to 15 finalists in each grade category.

Free poster paper with an entry form printed on the back may be picked up at the student's school, at Waste Management's Oakland office (172 98th Avenue) or its Hayward office (22770 Main Street), and at the Oro Loma Sanitary District office (2600 Grant Avenue, San Lorenzo). An entry form is also available for download here and one is printed in the Oro Loma 2004-2005 calendar.

All winning posters will be printed on the back of the Oro Loma 2005-2006 calendar. A selection of these posters will also be featured on each month.

All posters will be returned to the schools that submitted them. For more information, call the 24-hour contest hotline at (510) 613-2855 or visit www.oroloma.org.