Kayla McDaniel wasn't trolling for a paid job when she suggested to staffers at Udall Park that recycling bins could be offered at the park at little expense or extra work. Now she works part-time managing the bins.

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There's an old saying that goes something like this: If you want to get something done, ask a busy person.

It applies well to Kayla McDaniel.

The East Side teenager said she wasn't looking for a job when she shared her idea with staff at the city of Tucson's Udall Park.

But McDaniel, an active junior at University High School, said the job's flexible hours are perfect for her busy schedule.

McDaniel, 17, had noticed many recyclable items were being thrown away at her neighborhood park. It bothered her.

"Sometimes I go over there to run and that's when I noticed that if you bring a water bottle, you have to throw it in the trash,'' she said.

McDaniel thought it would be easy to put some recycling containers around the park and then dump the items in the larger containers behind the Udall Recreation Center, 7200 E. Tanque Verde Road.

One of the hardest things about recycling is not having a place to put the items, she said.

She said she thought about the recycling idea for a while before she decided to make a suggestion.

"It was one of those things where you get an idea and then you push it aside thinking, 'I could do that, but it probably wouldn't work,' " she said.

Her supervisor, Vince Valles, said they liked the idea and asked McDaniel if she'd like it to be her job.

"I was really shocked when I went in and they said, 'We're going to pay you.' I was like, 'What?' I thought it was going to be a volunteer thing,'' McDaniel said.

Now McDaniel works twice a week collecting recyclable items from four blue containers around the park. More containers will be put out in upcoming weeks, Valles said.

McDaniel said that if there isn't enough to do with the recycling project, she helps with other things like watering the garden at the park's senior center and refilling the baggie bins at the dog park.

She said the flexible work hours work well with her busy school schedule.

"It's nice to work little hours. School is intense, especially when you add in extra activities,'' she said.

McDaniel is involved in drama and plays saxophone. She also has a rigorous academic schedule.

Valles said getting the recycling system going took a bit of work. He said people are still learning that the recycling containers are there.

"They're slowly seeing our recycling containers are being utilized more and more,'' he said.

Valles said McDaniel has "just been wonderful to work with.''

"She comes in with a smile on her face and has a focus on bettering the park and the community where she lives," he said. "She just wanted to make her corner of the world a little bit cleaner.''

McDaniel's mother, Holly Fredericks, said she first learned of her daughter's idea when she heard her talking on the phone while on vacation last summer.

"She was having these adult-like conversations,'' she said.

Fredericks said she isn't surprised her daughter would get behind this kind of project, since her family has always recycled and spent a lot of time together hiking.

"She's hiked the Grand Canyon,'' Fredericks said of her daughter. "We're fairly outdoorsy people."

Fredericks said her family has used Udall Park for years, but she never noticed there weren't recycling containers easily accessible.

"When she got off the phone, I said, 'What do you mean they don't have recycling bins?' " Frederick said. "And she said, 'They don't, Mom. They just have trash bins.' It took a pair of young eyes."