By Grahm Reynolds
Recently, Branford High School has implemented a new program — headed by the National Honor Society and Environmental Club — to recycle paper that is thrown into blue recycle bins around the school. Previously, this paper was just thrown out with the rest of the trash, leading it to rot in a landfill.
“Paper consistently makes up the highest percentage of landfilled material year after year,” said Matthew Park, advisor of the Environmental Club and AP Environmental Science teacher. This program allows Branford to do their part in decreasing the environmental impact of paper, exact data of which can be found here.
The pairing of the Environmental Club and the National Honor Society may seem unlikely, yet as Park explained, makes perfect sense; the idea for the program was initially brought up to the Environmental Club by senior Abby Shaw, and then expanded to the National Honor Society due to the community service initiatives that it completes yearly. Members of both the Environmental Club and the National Honor Society will gather the blue bins from classrooms in the A, B, C, D, and F wings once a week and then sort out the paper to be recycled.
“This could be the first step in a much greater recycling crusade.”
– Mr. Park, environmental science teacher
Efforts have been made in the past to recycle the paper in the blue bins, but this appears to be the first time Branford High School has a concrete plan to do so. It is a major step in the right direction, Park said. As of now, anything put into blue recycle bins was just thrown out, leading to massive amounts of waste from the school.
“This initiative is designed to build a culture of recycling at BHS that can hopefully expand to other materials such as plastics in the coming years. This could be the first step in a much greater recycling crusade,” said Park, indicating that Branford High School may look a lot greener in the coming years.
Besides recycling paper, this program also accomplishes the spreading of discussion over the environment, which is extremely beneficial for the environmental cause as a whole.
“The biggest thing that most people (not exclusively students) need to do is have more discussions about environmental topics. I often tell students in my environmental classes that what we talk about in class NEEDS to be shared with friends and family. Most people are uncomfortable talking about our impact on the planet because it can be scary, and it forces us to think about personal changes that need to be made. The fact that this initiative has been entirely student driven can hopefully inspire our community to spread positive environmentalism…or even start their own environmental programs at BHS. All great journeys begin with one step,” said Park, ending on a note of excitement and hope for the future.
As the program starts the week this article is published, students should remember to put any scrap paper they have into the recycle bin, as it will finally be recycled. More information about the benefits of recycling can be found here.
