For months, Michelle Halla has been collecting and shipping recyclables across the country as part of the Recycling Rumble.

For weeks now, she’s been anxiously awaiting the final tally.

Much to her surprise, news arrived earlier than expected – and it was good, too.

Really good.

Manteca High won the national recycling contest with 6,535 recyclable items, earning $3,267.50, a 25-percent bonus and the contest’s top prize: A new Apple iPad.

More than 1,150 schools and businesses competed in the contest which began in February and ended on April 30. Manteca High had hovered at or near the top throughout.

Collectively, the contest kept 217,524 items out of landfills.

Halla, Manteca High’s Technical Support Advisor, was appreciative of the support she received from her campus and community.

“We had businesses in the city and students and parents. We had community participants who dropped things off. I got phone calls from people,” Halla said. “It all turned out really well.”

Halla has already begun to spend the school’s earning. She said half of the purse has been used to restock the shelves of the teacher’s store on campus. She has purchased a chair, several toner cartridges, pencils and dry erase markers, a DVD/VCP player, a presentation remote and other supplies.

“This isn’t something we just started when this contest started,” Halla said. “We’ve been recycling for 10 years. It’s grown from something little to something all the teachers are now benefitting from.”

Halla said the iPad will be raffled to a student who has taken part in the recycling program. Students are awarded a ticket in the raffle for every 10 items recycled.

She hopes the iPad will arrive before school lets out next Friday. She has been in contact Funding Factory, the contest’s governing body.