Puerto Vallarta, Mexico - As a way to promote favorable attitudes to the natural environment among the people of Vallarta and reduce the amount of waste that reaches the sanitary landfill, the municipal government headed by Arturo Dávalos Peña, through the Sub-Directorate of Environment and Ecology, invites all children and teens to participate in the 3rd Reduce, Reuse and Recycle Contest.

The head of the municipal office, Albino Garay de la O, stressed that this contest of the three R's is aimed at children and young people from 9 to 16 years, so that through their creativity, they can make a sculpture of an animal representative of Puerto Vallarta, using recyclable materials such as PET, cardboard, wood, glass and aluminum, among others.

He indicated that the call closes on November 24, however from October 30 the Environmental Education Department was given the task of directly inviting schools and contacting the sponsors that will make the awarding of the three first places possible. "So far we are doing well and the children are excited about participating," he said.

The contest is divided into two age categories: Pequeños from 9 to 11 years old and Grandes from ages 12 to 16. Teams interested in participating must register their projects by email paulina.ecologia(at)gmail.com or on the Ecologia Vallarta Facebook page, through a message that includes the name of the participants and the school. Once the message has been sent, they will receive a registration code indicating registration completion.

The official explained that the sculptures must be made with 80 percent recyclable materials, must not exceed measures of one meter long and 50 centimeters high, and must contain a technical sheet of no more than half a page containing the name of the participants, name of the school, description of the project and a list of the materials used. Applications will not be accepted from people who dedicate themselves professionally to the assembly and sale of things made with recyclable materials.

The contest will be held on the 28th of this month in Plaza Galerias, from 6 pm to 8 pm. The evaluation committee will judge entries based on Originality and Design, and teams will be able to obtain additional points for presentation and cleanliness.

The Deputy Director of Environment and Ecology, Albino Garay, said that this contest seeks to "encourage the public to reduce, reuse and recycle waste, since generally when we go to the store most packaging materials end up in the garbage. We now know that, in reality, the packaging is not garbage, but 'waste,' and that this waste has a value in the market, and recycling it also contributes to the care of our environment."

He specified that "if, at home, we separate aluminum, PET, cardboard, etc., and keep it is a material that can be recycled, it can be sold and be a resource that benefits the entire family, but when we mix everything together, it all becomes garbage. We can recycle about 80 percent of the waste listed above and benefit from it. So, in this day and age, it is important that citizens start the culture of recycling at home which will, in turn, reduce the amount of waste that goes to the landfill."