To promote recycling and celebrate Earth Day, the York County Solid Waste Authority (YCSWA) is sponsoring a Recycled Art Contest for York County High School students. Participating schools include Central York High School, Chrisitan School of York, Dallastown Area High School, Eastern York High School, Hanover Public High School, Kennard-Dale High School, Red Land High School, Susquehannock High School and York Catholic Senior High School. Sixty students are participating.

Contest works will be on display at the York County Agricultural and Industrial Museum at 217 W. Princess St., York. The exhibit opened on April 15 and will end on Tuesday, April 23. A virtual tour will be available at http://www.ycswa.com.

A public awards ceremony for contest participants will be held on April 23 at 6:30 p.m. All student winners will receive an art supply gift certificate, and their school's art department will also be granted an art supply gift certificate in the same amount.

The York County Agricultural and Industrial Museum currently has limited hours due to transitioning to a new space. In addition to the contest's public reception on April 23, the museum will be open to the public on Friday, April 19, and Saturday, April 20, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. while the artwork is on display. Call 717-848-1587 for more details or visit http://www.ycswa.com/news/sponsored-events.

Earth Day is a worldwide annual event celebrated on Monday, April 22, to demonstrate support for environmental protection. The first Earth Day, held in 1970, was founded by United States Sen. Gaylord Nelson as an environmental teach-in, similar to a general education forum. In 1990, the event became global with 141 nations participating. Today, it is estimated that more than 192 countries continue to celebrate Earth Day each year.                                                       

This is the ninth year YCSWA has conducted a recycled art contest for high school students. YCSWA facilitates responsible waste management through an integrated strategy that emphasizes waste reduction, education, recycling and resource recovery. YCSWA is the owner of the York County Resource Recovery Center, a Small Load Drop Off Facility, a Recyclable Materials Drop-off Center, an Ash Recycling and Processing Facility, an Education Center and the closed York County Sanitary Landfill, which hosts the Hopewell Area Recreational Complex.