It was supposed to just be another fifth period English class. An audio recording of Just Mercy, written by Bryon Stevenson, played as we skimmed the hard copies. Often, the high school junior found her eyes wandering around the classroom like her peers. One time in particular, Ms. Daughters caught their attention as she finished her fluorescent blue can of Zevia soda and chucked it across the room. The student felt her face get red and her hands clamming up as the can made a beeline for the trash bin. 

Through close observation, students and staff have noticed many recyclable products are being thrown into trash bins daily.

Albert Bandura, an American psychologist who specializes in observational learning, claims we learn best by observing others. Students and staff can naturally apply this theory by promoting healthy recycling habits. 

Amongst staff, several rumors about Liberty’s waste distribution have come to the same consensus: recycling and trash are combined into the same bin

“I am a diligent recycler which is why it pains me to throw away a plastic bottle into the garbage,” said Principal Brownson. “However, since our system has been poor for so long, throwing recyclable products into trash has become customary.” 

Some feel it is the teachers who do not implement recycling discipline for themselves or their classrooms that contribute to the problem. 

“Yes, everyone should be more conscious of recycling because we all live on the same planet, but at the same time their plates are pretty full,” paraprofessional Amy Carr said.

With lesson plans and more than 100 students to keep track of, teachers often say that fixating on other people’s recycling habits can become unrealistic.

One class that practices recycling habits is the woodshop class. Liberty’s woodshop class, run by Gary McIntosh, disposes of their scrap wood pieces in a way that benefits the class and their environment. 

“We start by putting scraps of wood into this special dumpster behind the school,” said Carr. “Then someone picks up the wood, and unloads it to be recycled.”

In the class, students also have full access to scrap wood pieces from previous projects to contribute to their own, allowing them to conserve money and wood. Rather than throwing out wood just for it to sit for years, McIntosh’s class speeds up the process by incorporating their scrap wood into new projects.

Another eco-friendly addition to Liberty has been Green Team. Starting up in 2022, Green Team is ready to speak for the campus. Run by President An Doan, the Green Team works to create a cleaner, greener school. To accomplish this goal, the club hosts annual campus-wide clean-ups after school. During these clean-ups, members have found three specific spots that contain the most undeposited trash and recycling. 

“You might not expect it, but the backwoods have a ton of trash. The back parking lot and cafeteria also have some nasty stuff,” junior Nimrah Sajeel said. 

With over twenty trash and recycling bins scattered around Liberty, free of cost, Sajeel proposes this question: ‘why is the ground a main disposal stop?’

“There are a lot of students who are not concerned with proper removal of trash, or people throwing away their things where they’re supposed to go,” said Sajeel. 

Liberty has taken steps to create a cleaner, greener school. 

Over mid-winter break, sophomore Seth Orten used recycled wood in his garage to create three garden boxes outside the LRC classrooms. However, some feel there is still room for improvement. One solution comes from the Globalization teacher,  Dingler. 

“It would be a good thing to invest in reusable trays, rather than the disposable ones we have now. That way we can reduce the amount of waste that is not compostable,” said Dingler.

Waste continues to impose on oceans, wildlife, and communities. To limit those affected, students can take extra precautions to know when and where they dispose of trash and to take the opportunity to recycle. Recycling can also enable students to be part of something bigger and more substantial than littering in parking lots or backwoods. 

“As a father of a five year old daughter who will be inheriting this earth, it bothers me greatly,” said Brownson. School staff and students are capable of making these changes to liberty by disposing waste into the correct bins and by limiting littering.