About 32% of the world recycles their waste on a day-to-day basis, practicing the routine of sorting their trash from compostable products to recycled goods. However, this percentage is not well represented in the world we live in today; most of the trash that we dispose of today is tossed into landfills or washed up on islands. Our oceans are polluted with garbage that was likely forgotten about as soon as it was thrown away. Sustainability is increasingly important, and the human race as a whole must take steps to be more environmentally mindful.

In light of this, Wakeland High School is taking steps to educate students and teachers about the importance of sustainability. Society today does not often think about the importance of zero-waste and its benefits to our environment. Going green can help promote biodiversity, protect wildlife, conserve resources, improve air quality, and better the world as a whole. Considering these benefits, the Wakeland Student Council chose to remove the trash cans around the school to reinforce thoughtful recycling.

“The purpose was to try and measure the amount of waste we were producing right now and create a baseline to measure our waste elimination progress against after we start implementing new strategies for waste reduction,” senior Sydney Adams said. 

While this method may seem interesting, it is a direct way to show students that not all waste is trash. With three bins for disposal: Trash, Recycle, and Compost, Wakeland Student Council encourages students to think about what they are throwing away instead of leaving trash on the ground or throwing recyclable goods in the bins. Littering has been a prevalent problem in Wakeland and many hallways during power lunch have been closed due to this issue. The waste issue around Wakelan shows that sustainability has been an overlooked subject.

“You can tell how people take care of their environment and home by looking at how they take care of their trash throughout their classes and lunch. So you can imagine how much people care about the environment and their waste when walking around school during lunch,” senior Isabelle Myrick said.

While it may be a small step, a step forward in the direction of sustainability is always a positive one. By giving students a moment to consider the importance of recycling, STUCO can help increase the number of people in the world who take a moment to think about sustainability.