Bates College sophomore Carolyn Silva-Sanchez invites the Lewiston-Auburn community to see the judging of a contest for creative uses of recyclable bottles and cans.

The 14 projects created by Bates student teams in the "Reuse, Rebuild, Reward!" competition will be displayed on the college's Alumni Walk, just west of the dining Commons, Central Avenue, from 11:30 a.m. until 4 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 4, coinciding with Parents & Families Weekend at Bates. Judging begins at 12:30 p.m.

Members of the college staff and faculty will judge the projects. Two winning entries will be picked, one based on creative merit and the other on the use of the most bottles and cans.

Silva-Sanchez, a politics major from Lexington, Mass., thought of the contest last spring as a fun and creative way to motivate students to recycle. "This campus is pretty conscientious in terms of recycling and environmental issues," Silva-Sanchez said. "It's something that everyone really pushes for, but there's always room for improvement."

Working with the college's Dining Services and environmental coordinator Julie Rosenbach, Silva-Sanchez asked the Commons to save all of the bottles and cans it collected during September. Proceeds from the bottle and can deposits collected by Dining Services and from the containers used in the competition will be split, with one-third going to prizes for the winning teams and the rest to a Lewiston nonprofit organization (still to be determined).

"I really wanted to have this event reach outside of the Bates community," Silva-Sanchez said.