LINDON -- Frustrated by low participation in city recycling programs, a group of seventh-graders have taken matters into their own hands -- and city officials on Tuesday lost no time in recruiting them as recycling advocates.

Five seventh-graders from Oak Canyon Junior High in Lindon gave a presentation on recycling to the Lindon City Council on Tuesday. While it's true that the city does have a recycling program, only 25 percent of households are paying $4.92 a month to participate.

Dressed all in white shirts and ties, the youth said their goal was two-fold. First, to encourage more Lindon residents to recycle, and second, to put pressure on Pleasant Grove, which has no recycling program at all.

The boys prepared the presentation as part of their school's P.U.S.H. program, which stands for Preserving Utah's Science and History. The program is an honors preparatory class that mixes English, history and science, said students Griffin Bodine and Carson Hunsaker.

The boys presented the results of an informal survey they had conducted, asking about 300 residents each in Orem, Lindon and Pleasant Grove about recycling. The survey showed that 98 percent of respondents said they would recycle if it was available.

But it is available, so why are only a fifth of residents actually doing it, asked Councilman Bruce Carpenter.

"Are they just lying?" said Carpenter with a laugh.

Not lying, just uninformed, said the boys. Judging by the number of survey respondents who said they knew little about recycling, the city could do a better job getting information out.

"There are people who don't know that much about Lindon's or Orem's recycling program," said student Jaron King.

After some discussion, council members asked the boys to create a flier promoting recycling in Lindon for the city to distribute in its monthly newsletter to residents.

"Our teachers would be proud to have us do it," said student Mitch Brown.

Many Lindon residents have said they intend to sign up, but they never actually get around to it, Carpenter said.

"How do you get people to actually call in and sign up?" he asked rhetorically. "That is all they have to do."

Kris Bentley of Orem, the mother of student Matt Bentley, accompanied the boys.

"I thought they did a great job," she said after the presentation. "I think it's so exciting they get to make fliers, and I think it will make a big difference. I think this is something they will never forget."