It’s no secret that pollution is a problem. Trash is heaved upon houses, scattered in seas, and cast onto pristine campus floors. And although there may not be an immediate solution to the first two issues, there is certainly one for the latter.
“There’s a lot of trash by the stairs after lunch. Pounds of it,” freshman Paige Umemura said.
A great goal for students is to focus on getting their trash into the bins rather than leaving it to float or be ingested by the local seagulls. This ensures that even if that garbage isn’t being recycled, it is still going to a landfill, and left to decompose the long way. Ultimately, recycling is the goal, and without more places to recycle, that is pretty hard.
“A few of my teachers don’t even have recycling bins, and the few that do have them pretty hidden in their classroom,” freshman Reyah Tohki said.
Most students can agree that it’s just more convenient to throw things away in the plentiful gray bins than scour the campus for the tiny blue ones.
“The last time I recycled at school was like three weeks ago,” Umemura said.
Evidently, along with more recycling cans at our school, there needs to be the motivation to recycle in the first place. This is why people are starting to get creative.
“ASB can make a recycling competition between each grade. Whoever recycles the most gets a prize, since that’s a great way to get students excited to participate,” Freshman ASB member Najwa Rafiqzad said.
While this is an amazing way to inspire change in the community, it is important to remember that It is up to everyone to improve the conditions in which they have to live.
“If non-recyclable things need to be used, we can at least start using things that break down easier and faster that won’t hurt our environment. We could also start doing more schoolwork electronically, so we don’t waste a bunch of paper,” freshman Reyah Tohki said.
By spreading awareness about the dire situation that is climate change, we can make students eager to play their part in saving our Earth, no matter how small a role they think it is. After all, the solution to pollution is us.
