CHANGE: The Plastic Era is among us, granting us the power to rule and ruin the entire Earth.
By Emma Carson, Staff Writer
Every year, 300 million tons of plastic are produced worldwide. Plastic is one of the most profitable mediums in the world, and it is everywhere: in our grocery stores, in our restaurants, and in our own homes. Due to its convenience, people across the globe rely on plastic to package our food and goods, such as hygienic products and medicines. It would be an undeniable struggle to live without plastic. As a world, we can collectively see the revolutionary nature of plastic. It is used for practically everything, and to make things even better, we can recycle it. But when we look even further to our oceans, to cities and to islands that have turned into landfills, the guilt of excessive plastic usage begins to surface. And this process is no more prominent than right here at Poly High School.
The first solution that usually comes to mind for many would be to start recycling. Currently, there is limited access to recycling on campus, so if students take the initiative and bring out the blue bins, Poly might be a step closer to becoming more environmentally conscious. But, unfortunately it’s not that easy. “Part of the ugly reality is that we’re limited on the infrastructure and the personnel to actually [recycle] and do it effectively,” principal of Poly High School, Dr. Michael Roe, explained. The process of recycling is a complicated one. For starters, everything must be sorted into plastic, glass, metal, paper, and cardboard. It then must be taken to the correct facilities to actually be recycled. Paper, plastic, aluminum, and cardboard are the main recyclable materials seen here on campus, and the trouble lies with the school’s limited custodial staff, who would be spending most of their time sorting through the refuse. Of course, there is then the question of who would take the sorted material to the correct facilities.
We have to look at the big picture; recycling won’t solve plastic pollution, and unless education about this issue is brought to light, then we can’t effectively make a change. Many people feel content taking their plastic and throwing it away in a recycling bin, but without the correct education, it is essentially useless. A large percent of the plastic created and consumed is thermoset, or single-use plastic, and this plastic stays on the earth for thousands of years. Thermoplastics are the type that can be recycled, but their special labels which describe the type of plastic they are make it complicated and time consuming.
Since much of our plastic cannot be recycled, or because resources needed for recycling are limited, most of the plastic used is likely to end up in the ocean. There are eight million tons of plastic in the ocean compiled into five garbage patches, each located in a different ocean. These “plastic islands” are made up of residual plastic, and much of it is tiny pieces that look like food to marine life. For these unfortunate creatures, eating the plastic causes them to starve to death, and in most cases the fish we eat contains plastic which releases harmful toxins, giving plastic the power to slowly kill animals and humans alike.
Plastic is dangerous, and unless we change some of our lifestyle choices, we continue to contribute to the demise of our planet. One way to lead people to make these changes is at school, where students have to lead by example. Several clubs on campus already work toward being more environmentally conscious . “It would be up to the clubs to rinse and sort and keep the money from the recycling,” Poly cafeteria supervisor, Joanne Hollingsworth, said. This way the sorting of the materials would be done quickly and efficiently, and the clubs in return would directly profit. Another way Poly could change is by using reusable water bottles and installing more water bottle filling stations, like the one in the gym, on campus. We could even invest in Brita Filters for the classrooms, saving 300 water bottles for every filter. “If we could maybe get more involved, to actually say enough is enough, that is what it is going to take [to become more environmentally conscious as a school],” Mr. Jeffrey Jambretz, AP Environmental Science (APES) teacher said.
People need to be educated on this topic more than anything in order to enact change. The APES class is a great way to become educated on plastic and many other environmental issues facing the planet. Leadership from clubs and certain individuals could bring change as well, but most importantly we need to change ourselves and reflect upon what we use in our everyday lives that can be safer for the environment. Students just have to be willing to change some things, keeping in mind that beginning a life sans-plastic can ultimately benefit the health of ourselves and our planet.
These small changes could begin a huge wave effect, and our entire community will be able to see the effects. A big issue for Poly is how much trash is produced everyday, and how we see it and choose to be apathetic towards it. However upon closer inspection into these issues, learning experiences prevail: “Our plastic is made of soybean, and it [degrades] much quicker.” Joanne Hollingsworth explained. Poly and the Riverside Unified School District are not completely blind to this issue. The plastic, cardboard, and styrofoam is all biodegradable, meaning if it is taken to the correct composting facilities it will completely dissolve within two to four weeks. Although this isn’t a school controlled decision, it is an important one that the state of California makes, and as a community we should be grateful for it.
Poly should be beautiful, within our halls and with our students who will hopefully with the right resources, make the right decisions. “The majority of our kids are going to do the right thing,” Dr. Roe said, and that is a matter of having the right resources, education, and leadership on our campus.