A competition challenging students to take their best stab at trash sculpture aims to get Haywood County teens thinking about how to make recycling a priority. 

Organized by the Commission for a Clean County, the “Recycle Your Art Out” program is open to middle and high school students. Four schools have signed up so far — Bethel Middle, Canton Middle, Pisgah High and Tuscola High. 

In each school, the art class will build a sculpture made from recyclable materials, with the CCC providing $50 for materials to each class participating and the town of Canton covering the cost of bases for the sculptures to sit on. 

Sculptures will be completed by Dec. 1 for display at the Haywood County Library in Waynesville. The CCC will hand out awards, including a “Best in Show” prize, in February. 

The sculpture contest, spearheaded by Seth Hendler-Voss, CCC board member and Canton town manager, fills out the environmental cleanliness message the CCC has sought to bring to schools over the past three years with its “Litter Troll” interactive program for kindergarten and first graders. 828.452.1550.