Does Your School Recycle?

In honor of Earth Day week, I wanted to bring up one of my pet peeves….schools that don’t recycle.

Many schools do an amazing job of recycling their paper, plastics, aluminum, etc…  They have recycling bins in the classrooms and the cafeterias.  I truly appreciate all of the efforts the adminstrators, teachers, and students have gone through to recycle at their school. 

What I don’t get is why there are still some schools who aren’t recycling.  It saddens me when I walk into a cafeteria and there are no recycling bins to be found.  It is a shame thousands of plastic bottles and aluminum cans are being thrown into the trash every week.  Worse yet, when this happens, schools sending a message to students that it’s okay not to recycle.

So, here’s my plea.  If you attend a school that is only partially recycling, or not recycling at all, would you consider speaking up about this?  Many kids have brought recycling programs to their schools, and you can too.

Here are a few ways to try it: 

• Find a group of friends that feels the same way you do and who want to see recycling at your school.
• Find out if other local schools are recycling.
• Get the facts.  Find out how much money the school could save or get back by recycling.  Find out an estimate of how many pounds of paper, aluminum, or plastic is being thrown out.
• Talk to a teacher for suggestions on steps to take at your school (for example, it probably will make sense to start with the principal, but if you have a teacher on board, that is great too).
• Set a meeting with your principal and see what you can make happen!
• Be persistent.  If you get a  no, find out what would need to change to get a yes.
• Keep your friends at Girls With Dreams posted on your success!  Let us know what you accomplished!