Recycling at Central

The Central Environmental Club has had a big influence on BCCHS throughout this year. From picking up around Central’s neighborhood to cleaning the Rims, the club has had many accomplishments. Two months ago, the Environmental Club branched out into a new area: recycling.

Recycling materials is more sustainable and environmentally friendly than conventional waste disposal and saves energy and resources. Until the Environmental Club implemented its recycling program, all the garbage produced at Central was thrown away and ended up in landfills. Now, the paper, plastic, and aluminum waste produced by Central can be placed into the blue recycling bins next to any trash can.

The club has been trying to start recycling since last year but only recently found a company to help. The recycling provider, Republic Services, needed to visit the school for a site visitation, and it took over month for them to go through contracts. After all this work, the Environmental Club was able to start working on making recycling accessible to the student body.

Next, the Environmental Club had to buy all the blue bins, print all the signs, and put them around the school. The fundraising for all of this was done with the portable chargers that the club’s faculty advisor, Krista Cunningham, started renting out last year. Currently, there are blue bins placed in most rooms. The recycling committee keeps track of whether or not each bin is being used so they can decide if it would be better in another place.

After school every Wednesday, a group of about a dozen students goes around the school and picks up all the blue recycling bins. It takes quite a while to go through and empty every blue bin, but it could be faster. The recycling committee is trying to get more students involved. Students can get community service hours for recycling as well. Any student interested in volunteering to help with the recycling program can contact Cunningham for more information.