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Hunter Hudson
D. Cocarro
English IV – 3 rd
20 September 2012
Should school systems be required to have recycling programs?
In 2008, the average American produced around 4.5 pounds of solid waste per day
(“How Much Trash”).
What most people do not know is that most of this waste can be recycled, which saves time, money, and valuable resources. Recycling should be considered in school systems when looking at waste reduction. Recycling in school systems has its benefits, including, creating jobs, cost effectiveness over trash collection, reducing the need for new landfills, saving energy, supplying valuable raw materials to industries, and adding significantly to the U.S. economy (“Communicating”). The major disadvantages that are pointed out to recycling in school systems include initial cost, upkeep, and the misuse of the recycling bins.
Recycling should be considered in school systems, and the importance should be promoted.
Research has shown that people learn better at younger ages, a great reason as to why recycling should be taught to elementary school students. This should be promoted and benefited by putting in recycling programs in the children’s schools. According to Shelly
Mocgygemla of Tulane University, “Students learn best by example and action. If at a young age, children are taught about recycling, and expected to do so on a day-to-day basis, a student will grow up with a greater understanding of the responsibility of recycling. Eventually it will be second nature and the students will look for a recycling bin before seeking out a trash bin.” This would give students a true understanding about recycling and its benefits for them and their environment. Recycling programs are already in effect in some NC schools, and the number is

Hudson 2 growing. Winston-Salem/Forsyth County school systems are already using a recycling program for their schools. According to their statistics, it is estimated that nearly 2,000 tons of recyclable material is collected through their program in a given year (“School Recycling Program”) !
When considering this amount is just from one county’s school recycling program, a whole state’s school recycling program could add up to a lot of saved resources, money, and job creations. The picture below shows the recycling program in effect at North Carolina State
University’s campus. The campus has several recycling bins on campus for separating different types of recyclables.
(Hudson)
Recycling is one of the top ways to saving the environment and all of its natural resources. School systems produce a lot of waste, and most of this waste goes straight to a landfill. Recycling prevents environmental problems that come from landfills. Few people want landfills in their neighborhoods. Landfills are a poor use of land and have a potential for groundwater contamination and production of gases (Bullman). Recycling also helps to reduce the need for new landfills and the problems that come about when focusing on where to place these new landfills.

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One of the economic benefits to recycling is that it has a potential to create more jobs and strengthen the US economy. Recycling opens the door to a number of different jobs, some of which include work in manufacturing plants, processing of recyclables, data entry, collection of recyclables, and distribution of the reprocessed materials. Recycling opens the door to a number of different economic benefits. The US economy would strengthen due to the ability of selling our resources to other countries and cutting down on costs related to waste management.
Another economic benefit to recycling is the potential that recycling programs could be more cost effective for school systems. Nowadays, school systems with a tight budget could use any sort of cost saving methods. In many school systems with these programs, schools see no net cost difference while other schools see a cost decrease for waste management. In a recent study from 2002, North Carolina schools with recycling programs reported information on recycling’s cost effectiveness for their schools. A net increase or no difference in financial impact was one of the major results of the experiment. Over twice as many of the schools had a net decrease in cost, when compared to those with a net increase. However, not all schools know the financial impact.
Figure 3: Financial Impact of School Recycling Program
(NC Department of Environmental)
The major disadvantages to recycling are possible cost increase, initial cost, and upkeep of the recycling bins. In a recent interview, Doug May pointed out another probable obstacle to

Hudson 4 recycling. He stated, “When the quantity (of recyclables) is small, it is often difficult for the school to find a company to haul the material away frequently.” Though these are obstacles to recycling, most can be solved with time. Though the initial cost may be pricey for a schools budget, if the school creates enough recyclables, it is possible that they could pay for the bins over time and end up cutting it even with prices or even decrease the prices with the schools waste management. This could go the same way when dealing with companies to haul away the recyclable materials. With time and dedication schools should be able to resolve the problem and find a reasonable company to serve the school systems in the community.
Overall the advantages seem to greatly outweigh the disadvantages when it comes to recycling programs in school systems. Most of the disadvantages can be resolved one way or another. Implementing recycling programs in school systems not only benefits the environment but also helps the economy and influences the lives of others. These are valid reasons why recycling programs should be considered in school systems.

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Works Cited
Bullman, Holly. "Implementing Successful School Recycling Programs: A Handbook for
Teachers and Schools." Landofsky.org
. Land of Sky Regional Council, July 2007. Web.
13 Sept. 2012.
"Communicating the Benefits of Recycling." EPA.gov
. Environmental Protection Agency, n.d.
Web. 13 Sept. 2012.
"How Much Trash Does America Produce?" Curiosity.com
. Discovery, n.d. Web. 20 Sept.
2012.
Hudson, Hunter. 2012. Raleigh, NC.
May, Doug. "Interview." E-mail interview. 13 Sept. 2012.
Moczygemba, Shelly. "How to Design a School Recycling Program." Green.tulane.edu
. Tulane
University, n.d. Web. 13 Sept. 2012.
North Carolina Department of Environmental and Natural Resources (NCDENR). “The ABC’s of School Recycling.” Recycleguys.org. Division of Population Prevention and
Environmental Assistance. July.2007. Web. 20. Sept. 2012
"School Recycling Program." City of Winston-Salem, NC . N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Sept. 2012.