The word recycling was first made public at the high school with the donation of four 55 gal. garbage cans, painted with the Coca Cola insignias, by the Coca Cola Co. in town. The design of the cans is to remind students that only aluminum cans can be disposed of there. Soon after, the idea to recycle all paper trash surfaced. With the support of the administration and faculty, cardboard boxes started appearing in each classroom almost instantaneously. The student council representative from each classroom was given the responsibility to empty the box when full into large containers in the Student Activities Office. Every three to four weeks the paper is taken to BandJ Recycling (4301 N. State St.) where students can collect up to six cents a pound for computer paper and three cents a pound for white paper. Colored paper is also accepted but at a lower rate.
So far, U.H.S. students have raised almost $60 for their aluminum cans and $50 for their paper. Through this program students can develop habits that they can utilize for the rest of their lives. A number of the local elementary schools have also started the recycling process including Oak Manor, Yokayo, and Nokomis. Pomolita Junior High students have also implemented the recycling of aluminum cans and paper. All schools, no matter what size, accumulate thousands of pounds of paper each year that is disgracefully thrown away to add to the already overflowing landfills. If all schools in the state recycled their paper trash there could be a significant decrease in the amount of trash that goes into our landfills. With state law that requiring each city to reduce by 25% the amount of garbage that goes in their landfills by the year 2000, students and administrators should do their part.
The students of the UUSD have also accomplished another great feat in bettering the environment. They have pressured the district through a petition to ban the use of styrofoam products in the UUSD. Now paper coffee cups can be seen around campuses instead of the harmful and dangerous polystyrene products.
The notion to ban stryofoam products developed out of a district-wide Environmental Summit in which all schools in the district participated. At the summit, two to three representatives from each school gathered to brainstorm plans of actionso their schools could become more environmentally aware.
An integral part of education that most schools fail to educate students about is the environment and the desperate situation requiring immediate attention. By participating in the Environmental Summit, students created their own environment of awareness, concern and remedy which should be experienced by every student no matter what age. Five proposals were chosen by students to concentrate on as priorities at the summit:
1) To petition against the use of styrofoam products in all district schools.
2) To start a recycling program in each individual school.
3) To write letters to local businesses to encourage them to think and work environmentally.
4) To stop the harmful pollution released from our school buses.
5) To plant trees within our schools and community to celebrate Earth Day and to create a healthier environment in which we live and breathe.
In March, students gathered at Low Gap Park to participate in a district-wide tree planting ceremony. Twenty-eight trees were planted forming a separate "Student Grove". This type of hands-on learning was a tremendous educational opportunity that students can apply to their lives for years to come.
Now the trend to ban styrofoam has extended to the local Trinity School. Students there were inspired to discontinue the use of polystryrene products by the efforts of the UUSD. Hopefully, the ban will continue throughout the county and maybe even influence schools around the state. These commendable efforts by students must be made known to other schools so that students realize that they too have the power to fight for the environment and initiate change in areas many adults and administrators seem to ignore.
With the passing of Earth Day 1990 and the recent revival of environmental awareness, education at an early age is the key to ensure that our children are in step and aware of the environmental age and the progress that must be taken to keep the earth a clean and healthy place to live.
Copyright Mendocino Environmental Center 2004
Permission granted to excerpt or use this article if source is cited