The school has started a separate recycling collection for the first time since COVID-19 shut it down. The Green Team initiated this in an effort to make the school more environmentally friendly.
“It goes as small as just pick up your crap in the classroom,” Sustainability Manager Mariette Baxendale said. “You know somebody’s going to have to clean it up eventually.”
The school has given new signage to all teachers to be hung above recycling bins in their classrooms. These signs help communicate which items are recycled or not.
“You need to be aware of your own waste practices,” Dr. Baxendale said. “But this is also our common home, we need to care for creation.”
Items like dirty tissues and napkins are not recyclable. Anything wet could contaminate all the items in a full recycling bin. When this happens, recycling and waste companies will label the entire collection as waste even if almost all of it is recycling.
“I’m very excited for this first year with a fully functioning recycling system,” junior Green Team member Tommy Willie said. “But we still need everyone to learn how to recycle.”