Candles from trash turned into cash

Students at Dapitan City National High School, Dapitan City, Philippines, recycled candle waxes from a local cemetery by turning them into decorative candles for sale. Every year after the observance of All Souls' Day by Christians all over the world, candle waxes are scattered everywhere in Christian cemeteries. Contributing to the global goal of responsible consumption and production, mathematics teachers Jasmin Balladares and Julie Anne Gallosa initiated the project by having their students gather waste candle waxes from a cemetery adjacent to the school and made them into decorative candles using different geometric shapes. With expenses ranging from 10-80 Philippine pesos, each candle was sold for 80-150 Philippine pesos. The project earned a profit of more or less 4,000 Philippine pesos, which was used to fund a local scholarship. Learning partners from Odessa, TX, USA, helped figure out possible scenarios to reach the target profit. Alternative Education students used the data to represent said scenarios using equations, tables, graphs, and verbal descriptions. Students explained their algebraic processes in writing.