Because of low student participation in Student Environmental coalition this year, RBHS faculty is helping to implement new procedures regarding school recycling. Beginning this week, rather than SEC members coming around weekly to classrooms and emptying the recycling bins, paper and bottle recycling carts will now be placed strategically around the building.
Teachers will be expected to empty recyclables into these receptacles, and the carts will be emptied every Thursday. The change in recycling procedure stemmed from inadequate attendance at SEC meetings and the club’s inability to continue taking on such a large responsibility, debate teacher Jennifer Cone said.
“In the past, SEC had been the club that has done the recycling, but they’re very dependent upon their members being there and getting it done and it’s quite a task to do because this is a pretty big school,” Cone said. “This year, I have detention in the mornings so I have a community service, so I thought it will be something that we can do every week. I talked to Mr. [Rex] Beltz who usually oversees the SEC and so we kind of decided what week SEC would do it and what week I would do it.”
Every other week, if SEC can gather enough members, they will empty the recycling bins as usual, Cone said. However, during the weeks in between, or when SEC attendance is insufficient, the large recycling carts will be utilized and Cone, along with students serving community service in her first hour detention, will be in charge of emptying the recycled material.
Art teacher Abbey Trescott said she believes the new recycling procedure may be difficult for teachers to remember. The previous recycling process was convenient for teachers, she said, and the disruption in this process may reduce the amount of recycling that occurs at RBHS.
“I think it may affect how often teachers recycle just because it’s one more thing we have to think about,” Trescott said. “The nice thing about SEC taking care of it is usually we would get a reminder to put our blue bins out and that would help us remember to take care out our recycling. Now, if it’s one more thing for us to worry about, it may not happen as frequently as it should.”
Current member and former president of SEC senior Kira Kirk said in order to ensure that recycling at RBHS runs smoothly and is effective, interested students should regularly attend SEC meetings. Students involved in National Honors Society can receive required volunteer credit by coming to these meetings, she said.
“Participation is extremely low, especially with upperclassmen who need to set examples with participation,” Kirk said. “NHS provides an opportunity for students to involve themselves in SEC and also meet NHS required hours. I do not think this is happening now, but it is a way club participation at Rock Bridge can cover two organizations and benefit the community.”
The recycling at RBHS can only be effective if students are responsible and refrain from throwing trash in the recycling bins, Kirk said. She explained there are strict guidelines as to what can and cannot be recycled.
“Unfortunately a lot of times kids are ignorant to the fact that the bins are for bottles and throw their lunch trash in, which contaminates the bin and makes it hard to recycle,” Kirk said. “The paper bins are for paper only and it must be flat. The bottle bins are for plastic, glass and cans only. Putting trash in either makes the process ineffective.”
Although the procedural change in recycling may at first be difficult to adjust to, Trescott said believes it was a good way to fix the procedural inconsistencies dealt with by students and staff thus far this year. She said her teacher assistants will likely be able to help her remember to empty her class recycling bins, which will be helpful considering the amount of recyclables used daily by her art classes.
“In the art room we have a lot of recycling on a regular basis so I’m hoping for myself as a teacher to stay on top of it,” Trescott said. “I understand the reasoning and I think it’s a decent solution for the problem we were having.”
By Anna Wright
What’s the grosses thing you have ever seen left behind in a recycling bin?
