Branford High School Goes Green

 

  By Matthew Kerrigan Over the past 10 years Branford High School has aggressively made improvements to become more environmentally friendly, but how Eco-friendly has it become? For example, many students question Branford High School’s recycling efforts. “Everyone thinks the janitors just dump the recycling bins in the trash, so no one goes out of their way to recycle,” said Simon Mcgann, a junior at Branford High School. But Mark Deming, the Building and Facilities Coordinator for the district, says the school has to recycle,“By law every school in the state has to recycle …we look for the cooperation of the building occupants to place recyclables in the containers provided.” State laws say that all schools have to recycle office paper, newspapers, magazines, bottles, cans, etc. Branford High, in its effort to be more Eco-friendly, has also started making 60% of the energy used in the high school themselves with their state of the art CHCP (Combined Heating, Cooling and Power) system. Using this system is 70% more efficient than buying from the utilities companies, according to Mark Deming.   Branford High has also made other improvements to the school such as installing solar panels on the roof in July 2008, which have reduced the school’s CO2 production, and installing a state of the art heating and cooling system that only heats and cools the building when it is occupied. Also, the school can only use Green Seal or Eco Logo Certified products. Any students  interested in starting a program that could improve the schools efforts, or change the culture to a more ECO friendly environment, are encouraged to contact one of the school principals or email  Mark Deming if you have questions or suggestions.