WHS Recycling: Every Student’s Responsibility

By Caroline Reynolds

For the past year, Westborough High School’s environmental club has struggled to set up the Terracycle program. Terracycle is a recycling company that collects traditionally “non-recyclable” materials such as juice pouches and ziplock bags, and recycles them to create consumer products. E-Club first took initiative on this project in the spring of 2012 with the overall idea to minimize the amount of waste going into landfills thus making WHS more environmentally sustainable. Finally, in the beginning of this year, Terracycle became available to all WHS students during lunch. Unfortunately not many students are taking advantage of the program and most of the trash being produced is still ending up in the garbage.

Imagine a hole the size of a football field. If you take the amount of trash America alone produces in one year and put it in that hole, it would be 100 miles deep. According to Greenwaste.com the average person produces 1.5 tons of solid waste per year. Waste control is a serious issue especially with the rapidly increasing population and climate change. Even in small communities, the trash dumped in landfills poisons the water supply and if burned, releases toxic chemicals into the air. Lightparty.com states that while America comprises about 5% of the worlds population, we produce about 72% of hazardous waste and 33% of paper waste. Already 40% of the worlds rainforests are completely gone, deforestation wiping out complete ecosystems and contributing to global warming. Another acre is lost every second. In the Amazon rainforest, indigenous people are being stripped of their cultures and homes, their resources and way of life completely destroyed. Recycling paper and other products could slow deforestation protecting the homes and cultures of indigenous tribes. According to planetforward.com Americans throw about 25,000,000 plastic water bottles every hour. These bottles take 1,000 years to decompose. If we as a high school have the power to reduce our waste then we should.

Although the statistics about pollution are grim, there is hope. Recycling saves energy and reduces landfill space. According to the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, recycling a single aluminum can saves enough energy to power a T.V for three hours. When a product is recycled it can then be reused which reduces the need for companies to continue producing material. Landfills are the primary contributor to greenhouse gas emissions in America. Decomposing trash releases methane gas which according to the EPA is 20 times worse than Carbon Dioxide in terms of the greenhouse gas effect. This means that every single thing we throw out, has a direct effect on global warming, possibly the most pressing environmental issue. Recycling also sustains the earth for future generations by conserving natural resources.

Overall, the point of this article is that we can make a difference. Planetforward.com states that the average student lunch accounts for 67 pounds of waste and packaging per year. That means with approximately 1,000 students, WHS produces 67,000 pounds of cafeteria waste a year. Space in landfills is running out, oceans are polluted, ecosystems are being destroyed, people are being poisoned, and temperatures are rising. It is our responsibility to the earth and to future generations to walk the extra 3 feet and recycle. Just think, every ziplock bag we throw in the trash will take 1,000 years to degrade. We have the ability and resources to make a positive impact on the environment and make the world a better place for our children. Take advantage of the schools terracycle program if you care about the earth and want to contribute to reducing our schools waste.