East goes Green with recycling

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Meagan Carpenter
February 23, 2010
Filed under Student Life

The dawning of a new year means new resolutions for many.  One very important issue has caused some to rethink how they will choose to live in 2010.  A dedicated group of students has formed the Green Team, dedicated to making East a more eco-friendly school.

Three recognizable faces of the Green Team are senior Jean-Patrick Grillet, junior Asher Bernstein and sophomore Chad Reed, who enlighten students on the Wednesday morning announcements with facts and ways to make their lives ‘greener.’

The first major decision made by the Green Team was the addition of two recycling bins in the cafeteria, one for plastics and another for aluminum.  Their bright green colors stand out next to the humongous gray trashcans in which the contents of uneaten lunches are discarded.

East has become a part of a growing number of schools that are going green.  According to charmeck.org, CMS has already recycled over 2,500 tons of mixed paper and cardboard since 1998.  With the continuation of support and help of all the students at East, that number could easily increase during the coming years.

Over the past three years, junior Asher Bernstein has walked by the trashcans and noticed all of the items that could be recycled, but were instead thrown away until recently.

“Until recently, there was no place where students could recycle plastic bottles or aluminum cans,” Bernstein said.

Junior Priya Birdi thinks that the recycling bins are good idea and that they should be used on a regular basis by students and teachers.  Birdi uses the recycling bins on a regular basis and encourages others to as well.

“I think people should recycle because it is good for landfills and our environment,” said Birdi.

Despite the new addition to the cafeteria, some students may not have noticed the bins yet.  Senior Akayla Black said that she did not know they were even there.

Even though Black does not use the recycling bins, she does make a difference by refilling and reusing her plastic water bottles.

The Green Team at East is trying to make a bigger statement by changing the way we recycle. Purchasing a reusable lunch bag or recycling plastics can help to cut down on the amount of waste that is produced daily at East and in America. 

“Just recycle,” said Birdi.