Does Mounds View recycle?

by Michael Wang news editor and online managing copy editor

After every school day, custodian Scott Rolfs goes into each classroom and collects the trash and recycling bins, ensuring that cans, paper and other recyclables are reused in another form. But too often, he finds trash and liquids in the recycling bins. “[Finding garbage] wrecks the whole recycling culture,” said Rolfs.

The iconic blue bins have become symbols of sustainability and environmental friendliness. From conserving resources such as water and timber to reducing greenhouse gases, recycling has become a way for every individual to fight against climate change. At Mounds View, recycling bins are distributed everywhere — from under drinking fountains to the cafeteria corners — as a way for students to dispose of recyclable materials. However, this function isn’t reflected in Mounds View’s recycling procedures.

Recycling at Mounds View has always been implemented, but the main problem is inconsistency. “As long as the recycling is separate from the garbage, they collect in a separate container, and they put it in the recycling out behind up by the dumpster,” said Associate Principal Benjamin Chiri. “But if there’s garbage mixed in or the recycling, they don’t have the capacity to separate garbage from recycling. So then they just put it in the trash.”

This problem has become prevalent across the school, with trash and recyclables being mixed together. “I see people chuck garbage into recycling, and I see people chuck recycling into the garbage even though they’re right next to each other,” said Chiri.

The issue is eventually left to the custodians, who face a dilemma: They can trash recyclable materials or send off trash to be recycled. “It’s always really frustrating,” said Rolfs. “[The recycling company] could negate our contract if we’re doing that.” Hence, the school goes with the safer option and throws away everything, even if most of the recycling bin’s contents are recyclable.

Attempting to manually sort the waste is not possible either, according to Rolfs. “We have a lot of employment issues and a huge area to cover,” said Rolfs. He states that the process of sorting waste is tedious and not worth the time, especially when there are so few custodians available. It also doesn’t address the source of the problem: the culture.

Chiri believes there needs to be a change in the those things, and it makes it really hard [to recycle],” he said.

“As long as the recycling is separate from the garbage, they collect in a separate container, and they put it in the recycling out behind up by the dumpster.”

Benjamin

Chiri, associate principal

One way that Mounds View has tried to solve this problem is through student-led programs. The Environmental Action Club, formerly known as Synergy, has run a recycling program in the past. “The environmental club students would often go around and they would be the ones collecting the recycling,” said Chiri. “But we don’t have that at this point.” However, the Environmental Action Club (EAC) has plans for the future.

The EAC plans to implement a multi-year initiative to address the lack of recycling at Mounds View, starting with an advertising campaign and hopefully culminating in safe and efficient recycling processes. “Changing the way an entire school recycles is a difficult challenge,” said junior Brian Kim, EAC president. “But we believe that this is something that cannot continue and needs to be addressed.” recycling culture at Mounds View. “I think that a lot of people say that it’s important. Yet their actions don’t always reflect that,” said Chiri. He urges students and staff to be more consistent when they recycle.

Mounds View wants to do better for the environment, explained Rolfs. However, all of the non-recyclable plastics in the recycling bins doesn’t show it. “The issues are sometimes people putting garbage on

Recycling at Mounds View has mostly been in name only, and changing that starts with each individual. “I think it’d be really good to have a stronger, more sustainable, long-term commitment to doing these types of things,” said Chiri.