More than 900 children at Pleasant Valley Elementary School had an opportunity to get dirty on Friday — well, at least their fingers.

In honor of Earth Day, the Parent-Teacher Organization coordinated an event that brought in representatives from Waste Management, the Monroe County Municipal Waste Management, PVHS chapter of Future Farmers of America, Monroe County 4-H, and the West End Fair Queen and Princess.

Samantha Marrero, the president of the PTO, said the guest taught the children “about how to keep our Earth clean, recycling, and how what we do affects our surroundings.” The children also learned about plants, where food comes from, and ways to keep water clean.

The PTO got in the action, too. They had a table with tubs of dirt with things in them for the children to feel and find with their hands.

“They really have been enjoying putting their hands in the dirt, and finding the animals that live in dirt,” Marrero said. The dirt contained things like toy bugs, for example. “They didn’t realize there was so many things that live in soil, and now they’re going to be very careful what they throw on the ground.”

This is the third year the PTO has organized the event. Member Jennifer Rufo said she likes that it is interactive.

“They’re not in the classroom. They’re not just listening to someone. They’re not just watching a video,” Rufo said. “It’s different people teaching them about it and doing hands-on activities.”

All of the organizations volunteered their time for the event.

“They’re donating a lot of time to us today,” said Marrero. “This was an all-day event, but they are here. They are engaging with the children. Answering every question, so we are really grateful to these groups.

The event was held outside on the paved lot behind the school. Each class came out one grade at a time. They circulated in groups for timed sessions with each organization.

John Hambrose, a communications manager for the Greater Mid-Atlantic Area for Waste Management, talked to the children about recycling.

“What is the first thing you’re saving when you recycle?” Hambrose asked the children. The kindergarten children didn’t know.

He told them it is over there, and one kid said, “Fire hydrant”; another said, “Garbage can.”

“We are preserving trees, because trees are cut down to make paper,” Hambrose said. “When you take paper and recycle it, you don’t need to cut down trees.”

Hambrose told them they also can recycle metal, glass, and #5 plastic containers can be recycled, but the food in the containers has to be cleaned out.

Things like bowling balls, Christmas lights, Styrofoam, plastic bags, plastic film, plastic containers that are not #5, rubber toys and batteries. cannot be recycled.

In an interview afterward, Hambrose said, “Every year, we get thousands, upon thousands of bowling balls.”

He explained that people think that all plastic can be recycled, but it can’t. Of the plastic that can be recycled, if food is left in it, then it is contaminated.

“The food in there after a week or two can get pretty nasty,” he said.

Hambrose explained that contaminated material contaminates the whole load of recyclable material, which means it has to be disposed of in the landfill.

“It makes a waste of a lot of the good recyclables that we get,” he said.

Batteries are a big problem.

“We’re having a terrible time these days with batteries,” Hambrose said, all of them: dry cell, lithium and rechargeable.

“Batteries contain hazardous substances, which by themselves are a threat, especially the lithium batteries have a habit of bursting into flames. They’re causing fires in our trucks, transfer stations, recycling centers and our landfills,” Hambrose said.

Waste Management has a program where people can purchase a battery recycling kit from their website. When the box is full, then they mail it to Waste Management for proper disposal. People can also do this electronic items and fluorescent light bulbs.

The state also has suggestions for battery recycling. On the website, www.pa.gov, it suggests taking batteries to either Clean Earth, which has a location in Allentown, or through Call2Recycle. More information is on its website; search household battery recycling.