The Nexus

Vanessa Nguyen (12) lugged two heavy trash bags full of used paper, bent cardboard, and sticky bottles across the campus. She and eight other members from Advocates for a Better Environment (ABE) had been working after school for an hour, going classroom to classroom to collect the recycling. She picked through nearly 40 dirty trash cans and carried the recyclables over to the school dumpsters.

Members of the ABE club have taken it upon themselves to begin a recycling program on campus. Every Tuesday and Thursday after school, they sort through classroom trash and recycle bins and separate out the recyclable materials.

ABE dedicates their time to recycling because no one else on campus has taken the initiative to ensure that the school’s high volume of reusable materials gets recycled, since the school has no formal plan.

Recycling is a world-wide routine for individuals looking to be environmentally responsible. Many homes, schools, companies and organizations recycle. Although Westview has blue bins, Alex Greenspan (10) said they have caused confusion for many as to whether or not they truly are for recycling.

“I know the difference between the recycling bin and the trash bin, but I don’t know if they actually pick up the recyclables, so I kind of don’t notice the difference when I’m throwing away my trash,” Greenspan said.

The onus of recycling has been passed down from the state all the way to the students.

The progression begins with the city and state. In 2007, San Diego passed an ordinance stating that it’s mandatory for specific residential and commercial buildings to recycle.

While PUSD is within the limits of the city of San Diego, schools are state facilities, and therefore aren’t required to obey city laws. The state of California has only recommended that residents recycle; it hasn’t mandated it. That puts the decision about whether to recycle in the hands of the school district.

However, as of now, PUSD does not have a recycling program in place, nor is it looking to implement any sort of mandatory, structured one.

PUSD Maintenance and Operations Supervisor Karen Carlson said that the district provides the necessary trash and recycle dumpsters and organizes a pick-up service.

“The district does provide recycle dumpsters at every school site,” Carlson said. “It’s a tough situation because the district doesn’t really have staff to take care of the recycling on a day-to-day basis. It’s kind of left up to school sites to make sure that happens.”

PUSD Maintenance and Operations Director Mike Tarantino said that although he wishes PUSD could do more, it’s in each specific school’s hands.

“It always goes back to the site,” Tarantino said. “The sites are managed by their own administrative staff. Whatever they put together is okay with us [at the district], but it needs to be arranged by the site.”

Some schools have taken it upon themselves to implement a workable recycling program. Ranch Bernardo and Mt. Carmel have tried to create recycling programs on their campuses, but they still have their flaws.

“While I wish I could say that it’s making a huge impact on campus, I can’t,” Rancho Bernardo Principal Paul Robinson said. “There are still too many days where custodians are picking up bottles and cans with the trash. Our custodians try to separate everything, but there often is not enough time to do so effectively.”

Over the years, Westview students and teachers have also attempted to start a recycling program on campus. The most successful club to date, which provided some of the blue bins that are now found in classrooms, faded away soon after its founders graduated in 2005.

However, since then there have been obstacles in the way of creating a successful program, despite the district’s efforts.

PUSD provides two recycle dumpsters for our site, which are for any recyclable materials: paper, cardboard, plastic, aluminum and glass. The district also arranges a recycle pick-up service. The problem is getting the recyclables from the classrooms and outside cans to the dumpsters in the custodial bay.

Tarantino said students expect the custodians to sort recyclables, although it’s not in their job description. But given that Westview hasn’t had an effective recycling program on campus in recent years, many students don’t know they’re supposed to throw their recyclables in its designated bin, which is a problem since it’s up to the students to separate their own waste.

The blue bins’ purpose are determined by what students put in them. If they were used strictly for recycling, then custodians would more regularly empty their contents into the recycling dumpsters. But too many people use them as extra trash cans, which makes it nearly impossible to recycle.

Custodial Supervisor Art Wolfe said that they just don’t have the personnel to dedicate to the job of recycling, especially after recent budget cuts have gutted his staff.

“My guys go through, and we dump the recycle right into the trash bins because nobody [separates] anything,” Wolfe said. “And we certainly don’t have the time to stop and separate.”

ABE, which meets Mondays at lunch in room J-115 is doing their best to solve this problem and sort the school’s recycling. ABE club presidents Kevin Walczak (12) and Nguyen have recently organized a plan for their members to tackle the problem.

“[Our recycling program] went on for about two-and-a-half months then people just stopped coming,” Walczak said. “So right now, we’re in the process of getting more people to sign up and getting more people to want to recycle after school.”

Nguyen said that it’s hard work, but it’s well worth it in her eyes.

“It’s like taking out the trash for your house but multiplying that by like eight,” Nguyen said. “We do it because we care, but sometimes it’s hard because we’re so small in numbers. We collect probably eight huge bags of recycling at the end, and that always feels really good. Even though we don’t do it every day, it’s still making a little difference. Even though it’s not that big of a change, it’s something and it’s going in a good direction.”

Both Walczak and Nguyen said that they hope to get more people interested in their club and in recycling.

Principal Dawn Kastner said she hopes to see the student body take initiative and organize recycling efforts.

“The heart is there; the willingness is there,” Kastner said. “I think there’s enough people who care about this. I’m excited. I think we can do this.”