Our nation’s schools are a perfect venue for implementing recycling programs to improve the reduction of waste materials and provide examples of green living to the public. The setup of a school lends itself to this kind of project, with students and faculty already accustomed to working together on a range of projects. Recycling in school can be the focus of a student club or organization, or a specific classroom.
What’s in it for students
The recycling program is a project that combines excellent education about the science of ecology with opportunities to practice entrepreneurship and small business or public administration principles. Students recycling in school can see first-hand how start-ups are implemented and save the environment at the same time. A recycling program, undertaken by a student club, can also be a good addition to either a resume or a college application. Even at a lower grammar-school level, a recycling program can build character and skills, and keep younger students busy with activities that can be a lot of fun and get them away from their desks for a while.
Starting a recycling program at a secondary school level
Setting up a recycling program within a student club is a great opportunity for members of the club to delegate responsibilities. Someone will have to work on outreach and approval, while others will work on the actual collection and storage processes.
Going to administrative offices, school districts and other top sources for approval gives students valuable experience and can even brighten up school board meetings. Working on “media outreach” for explaining the program to the rest of the student body helps mold future communications and marketing majors.
The work of setting up collections is just as valuable, and the students who actually work on implementation learn about the practical side of the program, with jobs like creating well-marked collection and storage bins, coordinating pick-up schedules, and policing the program’s resources against theft or vandalism.
Tips on Implementation
A good way to start a recycling program is to begin with a focus on one kind of materials, and then expand. Student groups can find this method more manageable when the program is young and still in the planning process.
Another good practice is to do continual “cost analysis”. Recycling doesn’t have to be just a chore, or a budget-free initiative. Recycled materials can be worth money, and analyzing the worth of a program is important even if it doesn’t technically “pay for itself” in the short term. Students can factor in value based on reduced trash hauling fees and even incineration or landfill operations. And looking at the continuing worth and cost ratios of recycling materials helps students work on all of those critical business skills they may use later in life.
Overall, a school recycling program combines skill-building and experience with good ecology and energy savings, and campuses all around the country should take advantage of all of their potential in becoming “cities on a hill” for the way America treats its materials management.
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