Turlock teens spent hours collecting recyclables for 4-H. They were stolen in minutes

After spending all day showing their market lambs at the recent Stanislaus County Fair, teenagers Katie Overton and Daniel Olivas spent the evenings, hours at a time, digging recyclables out of the trash.

They collected hundreds of dollars worth of plastic and aluminum, the proceeds of which would be donated back to the fair as part of a leadership project.

But when Katie, 14, and Daniel, 13, went to retrieve the plastic bottles and aluminum cans from the fairgrounds Monday, they found the horse stall in which they’d been stored broken into and nearly all the recyclables gone.

Katie’s mother, Laura Overton, said it was probably $400 worth of plastic and aluminum. They had cashed in some of the bottles and cans last week, earning $191, and a few bags were left behind, but the bulk of it was stolen.

Katie and Daniel came up with the idea of collecting recyclables at the fair because they noticed trash cans overflowing with them last year and thought it would be a good way to earn their 4-H Gold Star.

The plan was to donate the proceeds back to the fair, which is saving money to build an additional shade structure for all the children and their families showing livestock.

“It was real easy money for (the thieves) to jump the fence and steal the bags but it was the kids who put in all the work,” Overton said. “They spent three hours every evening rummaging through trash cans. Normally you finish with your animals and you tool around the fair the rest of the night but this was work.”

Katie and Daniel will still present their project to the 4-H committee and will give what they earned to the fair.

This story was originally published August 2, 2017 at 5:52 PM with the headline "Turlock teens spent hours collecting recyclables for 4-H. They were stolen in minutes."