The New Orleans Saints and Progressive Waste Solutions have teamed up to create a recycling contest among schools in the New Orleans area that begins Tuesday, March 6 and concludes Friday, May 1. The three schools that recycle the most items during the contest will receive a Saints Junior Training Camp this spring.

An assembly announcing the contest was held at Patrick F. Taylor Science & Technology Academy, one of the participating schools, on Friday. Saints Senior Vice President of Corporate Partnerships Jean-Paul Dardenne, Saints guard/center Tim Lelito and Diane Crouch, recycling coordinator for Progressive Waste Solutions, spoke to the students about the program and stressed the importance of recycling.

"What we're doing today is with Progressive Waste Solutions, which is a great corporate partner of the Saints," Dardenne said. "They came to us years ago to really get involved with recycling. So what we do then is bring a sense competition to these schools to see who can do the most recycling. Also it's education and I've seen over the last two years that the kids are really into it; it's great to have the Saints here and to have Tim (Lelito) here as a player. It's really about making the earth better, educating them and the future. They have to start now."

Progressive Waste Solutions will provide recycling bins to each of the schools registered. Participating schools will collect recyclable items including newspapers, magazines, cardboard, plastics, aluminum items and steel cans. Students can track the contest on NewOrleansSaints.com as the site will feature a recycling page with contest updates.

"We're just here to reiterate what their coordinators and what the teachers in the schools are bringing to the table - recycling is a good thing," Lelito said. "It started back when I was in first grade; we would bring milk jugs to school and we actually created a park bench from the milk jugs that we brought in. So that's really what we're after today, that recycling is a good thing."

The schools that have registered for the contest include: Lycee Francais de la Nouvelle-Orleans, Airline Park Academy for Advanced Studies, International High School of New Orleans, Patrick F. Taylor Science & Technology Academy, Gretna No. 2 Academy for Advanced Studies, Einstein Charter School, Gramercy Elementary & Magnet School, Kipp: McDonogh 15, Joshua Butler Elementary, ReNEW Cultural Arts Academy, Morris Jeff Community School, Edna Karr High School.

If you would like to sign your school up for the New Orleans Saints and Progressive Waste Solutions recycling contest, send an email to saintsCR@saints.nfl.com.