Lafayette has a problem. Frequently, bags of recycling are being thrown in the trash– but, it might not be for the reasons you think.

Now, who the main contributor is when it comes to this issue is up to speculation. Some say lack of education on what can and cannot be recycled leads to continuous polluting of the bins. Some say the custodial staff is prioritizing the cleanliness of other spaces throughout the school and don’t have time to stress about recycling. Some say the Rockwood School District needs to take measures towards creating and clarifying a set policy or procedure for all to follow in regards to recycling and the complications that tend to arise.

To clarify, Lafayette does indeed recycle. While there is no concrete policy set up by Rockwood, there is a procedure that most staff members follow. 

Teachers who have recycling bins in their classrooms are encouraged to empty the waste into the larger bins scattered throughout the Commons. These communal bins make it easier for the custodians to gather recyclable materials and make sure they go to the correct facilities for proper disposal. 

In recent years, active student participation in recycling has taken a significant hit after Lafayette’s Recycling Club disassembled. Despite 74.3% of Lafayette students surveyed saying they recycle at school, most materials that end up in the recycling bins cannot be recycled because of cross contamination.

Cross contamination of the recycling bins is when foods, liquids and other non-recylable materials are thrown in, tainting the entire bag and prevent all trash inside from being recycled.

Despite 74.3% of Lafayette students surveyed saying they recycle at school, most materials that end up in the recycling bins cannot be recycled because of cross contamination.

“Some of [the improper recycling] might come from lack of awareness, and some of it could just be being lazy,” science teacher Christopher Lofgren said.

Since Lafayette no longer has extra help from an environmental or recycling club to spread awareness, many teachers have taken it upon themselves to continue the recycling effort. One being Lofgren.

Lofgren has put in a lot of effort around LHS to make recycling more accessible to students and staff, as well as educating students on what can be recycled. 

“I took a lot of the [recycling bin] lids down to our shop class and cut a bigger hole [in them for paper]. Unfortunately now, I think a lot of trash gets put in there, but the goal was to increase recycling,” Lofgren said. 

During class, Lofgren often asks his students to empty and rinse out their soda or energy drink cans before recycling, as classroom sinks make it convenient for students to prevent contamination. However, most classrooms don’t have this luxury, so students tend to not go out of their way to correctly dispose of excess liquid. 

“I think that one of the challenges with recycling is that people just don’t do it. They miss the recycling bin or they don’t think about it and they just throw away whatever it is that they have,” Principal Karen Calcaterra said.

Many teachers and staff members, including Calcaterra and Lofgren, believe that giving extra direction to students would significantly reduce cross contamination. 

“I wish that recycling was easier. I wish that the receptacles were more visible, that it was a little bit more organized. Like this [bin] is for cans only, this is plastic only, this is just paper products. Anytime I go to a place where it’s organized, I just feel like it’s more manageable and easier to recycle,” Calcaterra said. 

In addition to a lack of student participation, some believe that custodians are preoccupied with other custodial tasks, leading to recycling dropping in importance and many bins simply being dumped out with little care for their contents. 

However, head custodian Susanne Jessen notes that more often than not, greasy pizza boxes, half-full soda cans and other non-recyclable materials end up in the recycling bins, defeating the purpose of them.

From a custodial standpoint, sorting through the contents of recycling bins when trash is thrown in is not something they are required to do, leading to many bins worth of recycling being thrown out if trash is present.

“It is not, to my knowledge, a custodial job requirement to sort through recycling. They empty the recycling bins, but they’re not going to go through [them],” Calcaterra said.

Additionally, Jessen mentions that some custodians do not follow through with instructions to wash out soda cans in order to recycle them because of time constraints.

Part of this disregard is due in part to the lack of custodians. Understaffing is prominent in many schools, leading Calcaterra to emphasize other custodial duties, like keeping bathrooms and classrooms clean rather than recycling.

“There are a lot of things that have to get done under this roof, and sometimes we have to make decisions about what’s prioritized. Having clean spaces for our students and adults would be a priority over recycling. I would want to make sure that our bathrooms are clean before I would want soda bottles to be recycled, but that’s just my opinion,” Calcaterra said.

Even with several factors influencing the success of recycling at Lafayette, the fact remains: Lafayette isn’t recycling as frequently as they should be. Fortunately, there are ways to address this problem and enact positive change. 

One way to tackle this issue would be to take on solutions similar to what the Parkway School District is doing. Parkway not only recycles a considerable amount, but they also reuse construction materials like leftover scrap metal, purchase recycled products and have a program to reduce and compost food waste.

Cartoon by Marlie French.

On the district level, all schools would benefit from the construction of a clear and concise policy that would allow for uniform action to be taken in terms of recycling and other unsustainable forms of waste. The lack thereof has led to miscommunication and general unawareness among staff surrounding seemingly standard information in terms of procedure.

“I would certainly welcome updated recycling, like programs or anything that would make it easier to recycle,” Calcaterra said.

Additionally, Lafayette could involve student leadership groups to encourage student interest in the environment. 

Students stepping up and advocating for proper disposal of recyclable materials can come in a number of forms: Student Council starting up an Earth Day fundraiser, NHS volunteering to pick out cans and materials that can be recycled or Link Crew incorporating a game of what can and can’t be recycled into one of their presentations.

“This semester, we have a community service class taught by Mr. Swindle, he’s looking for jobs for the community service class. So, for me, recycling and picking up items around school is actually on that list,” Calcaterra said.

On a much larger scale, having more custodians would be a game changer. More custodians or staff members helping out would solve the understaffing problem while also aiding in the oversight of recycling throughout the entire district.

“Additional staffing for custodians would be an ideal to get all of those things [done]. [I would] welcome additional custodial staffing, as would everyone in this district,” Calcaterra said.

Even though many bags of recycling are being thrown away day after day, changes can be made that would benefit Lafayette while aiding in the preservation of the environment.