ARCHBALD -- Two benches were recently unveiled at Valley View High School to honor former superintendent Thomas Quinn who passed away nearly two weeks ago.
What you might not notice about the benches is that they are made from plastic bags.
"It's just amazing to think this whole project has come full circle," explained biology teacher Anastasia Zabielski. "The bags we collected might not be directly in these benches but those bags were recycled and used to make park benches for our community and our schools."
Back in 2013, Newswatch 16 showed you how students collected more than 37,000 plastic bags.
About 10,000 bags can be recycled to make one park bench. The benches come from a recycling program with Giant Food stores.
For students, it's surprising seeing how something as thin as plastic bags could be used to make something as sturdy as a park bench.
"I would never think that at all," said sophomore Megan Zabielski. "But now that it's there, it's pretty cool!"
"I think it's very humbling," said junior Tara Sweeney. "You don't really realize how much goes into recycling and giving back into the environment until you see it in front of you."
"We hear all this talk that recycling is good and you should do it, but to actually see what it can do is a good reminder," said junior Kaitlyn Brown.