It’s a difficult task – turning a trash bin into something fun. But two groups of students have done just that, and have been rewarded for their creative endeavor with $250 to put toward an environmental project of their choice.

In a bid to press the recycling message in schools and the wider community, trash collection and recycling provider Waste Management ran an “Art cART” competition.

With $50 for materials, the students’ task was to turn an ordinary recycling bin into a work of art.

For the seventh and eighth grade students in Becky Havekost’s graphic design class at Issaquah Middle School, it became a challenge that taught them the real-life elements of turning an idea into a project.

Students all contributed ideas as to what possibilities they envisioned for the bin. For student Lucas Schiltz, iconic Star Wars character R2D2 was the first thing that came to mind – for another student it was a boom-box. A few hours later, as the ideas moulded together and formed a shape, Schiltz drew the first sketches of what would become award winning Blue Monster.

The giant blue cart, with big eyes and lift-able lid for a mouth, is as eye-catching as it is functionable.

Nearby, five ninth grade students from Inglewood Junior High School spent two weeks transforming a recycling cart into a colorful collage of recycled materials topped with flowers potted in plastic pop bottle vases.

Students Steffie Aquirre, Aisha Ashraf, Lizzie Anderson, Mykelle Morrison and Vincente Varas designed and created the winning cart and wrote the essay that accompanied it.

In their essay the students wrote, “we hope that it communicates to the public that we need more recycling programs in our community. We all really care about the environment and hope that our dedication to this project reflects that enthusiasm.”

Their one of a kind piece of environmental art was another of the winners. They will now consider how best to spend $250 on an environmental project.