Granada High School is faced with the reality of littering as well as not recycling properly which are both harmful to the environment. Although the janitors do a great job, day and night, keeping our campus clean, students and staff also need to put in that extra effort to keep our school clean.
Recycling allows us to preserve our natural resources such as oil and coal and will help us steer clear of greenhouse gas emissions. It is important to recycle because it decreases the amount of pollution emitted into our environment and decreases Granada’s carbon footprint by decreasing the number of greenhouse gasses. I interviewed staff and students about their experiences with recycling on campus, asking if they see others recycle on campus; if not, what do they see instead, do they recycle themselves, and why do they do it?
Audrey Ngyuen (11) explained her beliefs on recycling, stating, “I recycle because I care about taking care of our environment but I don’t see enough people do it.”
Audrey and many seem to have this mindset. Although recycling may seem a more challenging task, it is straightforward and if more people see it that way our environment will drastically improve.
Mrs. Galland (Teacher) seems to have a similar mindset to Audrey and explained how she sees recycling firsthand, saying, “I really do not see people at Granada recycling. Even though there are cans that differentiate between the different types of trash, most students just put all of their trash in whatever can is closest to them.”
When a bin is most convenient to a student no matter what type, the student tends to throw their trash into that bin. If recycling bins are not everywhere around the school, students will litter or just throw everything into the trash.
I asked Mrs. Galland if she recycles and she went on to say, “Currently, I live in an apartment complex that does not recycle. All trash goes into the same dumpster. Before living there, I did recycle. I viewed this as important because it is a small thing that can make an impact on the planet.”
At Granada, we have the luxury of having recycling bins and we should use them because some people don’t have the option to recycle. A few people recycling can make a difference not only on our school’s carbon footprint but the world’s carbon footprint.
Lastly, Mr. McCafferty (Teacher) asked a few questions in his class on recycling and Granada. 9 out of 24 students in his 5th period FIT class actively recycle. Mr. McCafferty then asked his class about specific items and if they were compost, landfill, or recycle. I concluded that people are not educated on what items belong in which bins. Mr.McCafferty then told me, “There is good intent in recycling but I still have to go through the bins.”
Students can be unaware that what they are throwing away in the recycling is not supposed to be recycled. Pictures on recycling bins, compost bins, and landfill bins show labels with items and which bin they belong in. Although this task may seem unimportant, it really makes an impact on the Granada High School environment and helps us reuse materials that waste a lot of energy being made from scratch. As student Kashvi Jain (9) says, “Recycling is important for the environment and will make the campus safer and better for everyone.”
