At Morro Bay High School the critical act of recycling seems to be limited. The new principal, Mr. Schalde stated that “We do have a recycling program on campus, however it is not big enough.” There are many ways that students and staff can contribute to building a stronger recycling program on campus.
There is a lot more that students and staff can do in order to ensure the growth of a successful recycling program. For instance, Principle Schalde suggests putting up, “posters around campus about recycling, including QR coded with more information.”
It is important to be aware of what happens to the trash that gets misplaced. For example, custodian Jared from MBHS states that the wrongfully put trash “ends up in the same place because there is no sorting before going to the main dump.“ He also concludes that “it is questionable to students about what is recyclable and what isn’t.” Therefore, students and people in the community should take extra precautions when recycling to ensure that the environment is being well taken care of.
Some students have already taken steps to improve recycling and the school’s impact on the environment. The environmental club is a new club formed on campus this year. Its advisor is Mrs. Heidt who also teaches the AP Environmental Science class. President of the club, senior Emma Gragson states, “I think most of us are lazy.” Emma also added that “there may also be a problem in education.” Emma agrees if there was more information about recycling provided to students it might stand as a reminder to steer away from being inactive and lazy. Additionally, Emma hopes that the environmental club can focus on recycling later in the year. Currently, the club is working on systems and solutions to get rid of the food scraps left behind.
Based on the article Why Is It So Hard To Recycle by Forbes, the statistics state that 94% of Americans support recycling, 74% say it should be a top priority, but only 35% of people actually recycle. Meaning that the effective act of recycling has not been living up to the correct standards, globally and at MBHS. It is important to promote awareness of the real-life statistics of recycling in order to make a change on campus.
It is amazing living on the central coast and being so close to the ocean. This means that the community needs to take extra precautions to protect the ocean, like putting more thought into where trash is being put. Without extra precaution, plastic pollution can end up in the ocean and harm several species. Species like sea turtles, whales, fish, coral reefs, and many more.
Overall, the biggest reason why people don’t recycle is due to the lack of knowledge people have about the subject. At Morro Bay, we can change this by providing the correct information and constant reminders about recycling in order to protect the oceans and make an environment change.
