The Importance

of Recycling

in Schools
Olivia Atallah & Matthew Lines
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Table of Contents

2. Introduction

3. History of the Problem

4. Cause of the Problem

6. Consequences of the Problem

8. Proposed Solutions

9. Opposition Argument
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Introduction
Recycling is a fundamental part of Earth sustainability, and is very easy to do. Sadly,

American schools are not placing enough importance on the education of recycling. Recycling

has become a process many know about but few actually practice, and we’re hoping to change

that by aiming to increase the recycling education in schools, hoping that the education provides

an increase in effective recycling.

According to the Arizona Department of Education and their Common Core Standards,

recycling is taught every year up until the second grade. (ADE, 2017) After first grade, recycling

is never again mentioned in their science standards. This problem is not limited to Arizona. For

example, Minnesota and other states are beginning to illicit/ have already elicited studies to

measure the waste generated in public schools, and how much of it can be recycled.

Basic recycling is easy when it’s done right. The problem with that is, many people don’t

know hot to do it correctly because education standards are simply leaving out an important

sustainable practice. Our goal is to ensure that more American schools are properly and

effectively recycling by helping to educate students in order to provide the Earth with more

sustainable generations.
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History of the Problem

How did it Develop?

The problem of schools not recycling has many factors that have led to its development.

Some of the major proponents are the extra time of implementing recycling and minimal

education towards the benefit of recycling. Like almost everything else in this world, creatine a

recycling program takes time. This time that could be used for planning and carrying out a

beneficial recycling program is used for other things like uneffective teacher-to-teacher meetings

and other less impacting events. This leads right into the minimal education provided to students

about the positive impacts recycling has on the environment. Since this extra time is being used

elsewhere, many schools do not teach their students how important recycling is and its benefits

to the community and environment.

How was it Discovered?

There was no big ‘discovery’ of the problem. A couple of people spread out around the U.S.

recognized the absence of recycling in schools and began campaigns to start recycling in their

local areas and eventually one was made to promote recycling country-wide.

What have other Parties done to help Solve this Issue? What are the Relevant

Laws or Treaties?

While there are no treaties or laws passed to support this problem there are studies and a few

campaigns working towards recycling in more schools. Some of these are a large study done by

the state of Minnesota about the waste produced in schools, and the programs PepsiCo Recycling

and the WARM Resources for students by the EPA.

Causes of the Problem

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The biggest cause of the problem of not recycling is attributed to a lack of knowledge.

Many students, and even many teachers, were not properly educated on how to effectively

recycle. This leads to ineffective recycling programs, and sometimes even the lack of recycling

in schools entirely.

PepsiCo Recycling provides a nationwide program called Recycle Rally. On their

website, their first step to rallying includes encouraging and promoting recycling at school.

(PepsiCo, 2017)

A study done by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency divided up the materials

present in the trash of many Minnesota schools:

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(MN PCA, 2010)

Over half of the generated trash in all schools combined over the course of two days is organic

compostable/recyclable material. This problem isn’t exclusively in Minnesota schools though, it

can be applied to any American school. Many students simply do not know what can and cannot

be recycled. It is important to educate students on how to properly and effectively recycling.

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Consequences of the Problem

Present Day

Like all sustainable practices, recycling is not an overnight process. Typically, present

day sustainability is practiced in order to preserve future generations, rather than our own.

Sustainable development, according to the UN World Commission on Environment and

Development, “sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present

without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” This explains

that as we develop and practice sustainability, its effects are produced on future generations.

According to this definition, the consequences of not recycling will not become

noticeable in the “present day”, meaning that this generation will not see its effects. The

consequences will be an issue for future generations.

Future

Recycling (or the lack of) in the present day will have the largest effect on the future. The

US EPA website lists the benefits of recycling/reducing and reusing:

(US EPA, 2017)

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By showing the benefits of recycling, we also know what will happen if we don’t recycle

by finding the opposite drawback from each positive. A chart for that information could be

generated right now:

Drawbacks of Not Recycling

● Over time, the amount of waste sent to landfills and incinerators increases

● No conservation of natural resources

● No increase of economic security because there is no tapping of a domestic source

● Increases pollution because of the need to collect new raw materials

● Does not save energy

● Does not conserve valuable materials, and does not support American

manufacturing

● Does not help create jobs for American recycling and manufacturing industries.

The biggest consequence of not recycling will not make itself known to us. It will happen

much in the future, but that generation will not be able to stop the environmental degradation.

We can prevent that from happening by recycling now. While schools are not the largest

generators of waste per capita, the waste number is still significant, and we have to start

somewhere. By educating our students about proper recycling, and practicing what we preach,

we can set up the Earth for a future generation of sustainable practices, and maybe even keep it

running longer.
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Proposed Solutions to the Problem

Solutions to the problem of a lack of recycling are going to involve education and

practice. People need to be made aware of what’s going on, so we did just that. People need to be

encouraged to practice recycling, and we’re doing just that. We pursued several action plans to

educate and encourage.

Action Plans

We took several different measures in the form of an action plan, which included

classroom lessons, conferences, and public events.

We taught students in the form of classroom lessons across multiple days. Day 1 involved

a lecture and a quiz. Day 2 involved group work and classroom participation. At the end, student

proved to us that they have a stronger understanding of what recycling is. We left feeling

confident that these middle schoolers were going to be more conscious of recycling.

We also engaged in a phone conference with the membership coordinator from the

Arizona Recycling Coalition. That conversation was very helpful. We learned about the what,

how, and why the Coalition does what it does.

Our last action plan took place at the local Winter Guard Arizona Championships event at

Wells Fargo Stadium. We helped people organize their waste into the proper bins, and aided the

cleanup process after. This event helped us to directly communicate with everyday members of

society. After this, we knew that more people were educated on what can and can’t be recycled.
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Opposition Argument
Any type of opposition to the action of recycling in schools would lie in either the lack of

knowledge, or the cost. While we have already discussed the lack of knowledge, many schools

don’t consider recycling because of the cost of a recycling pickup. Many schools lay out bins for

students to recycle, but end up lumping the material with the trash. This is not a sustainable

practice, and needs to be stopped.

Rebuttal to the Opposition

My argument to this lies in the statement that recycling pays for itself. The minimal cost

of getting a recycling truck to pick up the recyclable material should not outweigh its

environmental benefits. Even from a business standpoint, it is upsetting to see that schools are

lying to their students simply because of a small cost.

The Earth’s shelf life is depleting, and everyone needs to start doing their parts. Schools

should not get away with lying to their students, by advertising recycling bins around campus.

We already discussed what will happen if we don’t begin to recycle. Our process must be

taken one step at a time. This is our attempt at taking a scholastic step towards recycling. Schools

need to begin to advocate for their Earth, and actually practice recycling. If they don’t, then one

day, there won’t be any material to recycle. That outweighs the cost of sending a truck once a

week to pick up the recycling.

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Works Cited

Care, L., & Chiles, P. (2006). Primary ideas: Projects to enhance primary school

environments. London: The Stationery Office.

Cioci, M., & Farnan, T. (2010). Digging Deep Through School Trash. Retrieved

December 04, 2017, from https://www.pca.state.mn.us/sites/default/files/p-p2s6-14.pdf

Hill, M. K. (2004). Understanding environmental pollution: A primer. Cambridge, UK:

Cambridge University Press.

Marion Institute. (2012, August 06). What Happens If We Don’t Recycle? Retrieved December

04, 2017, from http://southcoastenergychallenge.org/2012/08/recycle/

PepsiCo. (2017). PepsiCo Recycling. Retrieved December 04, 2017, from

https://www.pepsicorecycling.com/Programs/RecycleRally

Recycling Basics. (2017, November 07). Retrieved December 04, 2017, from

https://www.epa.gov/recycle/recycling-basics

Reducing and Reusing Basics. (2017, April 23). Retrieved December 04, 2017, from

https://www.epa.gov/recycle/reducing-and-reusing-basics

Standards: Science. (2017). Retrieved December 04, 2017, from

http://www.azed.gov/standards-practices/k-12standards/standards-science/

Waste Reduction Model (WARM) Resources for Students. (2017, February 21). Retrieved

December 04, 2017, from https://www.epa.gov/warm/waste-reduction-model-warm-

resources-students

What is Sustainability? (n.d.). Retrieved December 04, 2017, from

https://www.sustain.ucla.edu/about-us/what-is-sustainability/