+ Dana F., Ashley S., and Marvin P. Political and Economic Issues Period 4-6 REDUCEREUSE RECYCLE Recycling in MNHS & M

+ Why is does recycling matter to the planet? Recycling prevents materials such as plastic, paper, glass, and others from being put into landfills In landfills, a plastic water bottle can take up to 450 years to decompose completely If recycled, materials such as these plastic bottles can be melted down and made into new products, saving the plastic water bottles from sitting in a landfill for many years, and conserving resources by using once-used materials to make new products This is good because there is no “away” – landfills will eventually fill up, and we will have nowhere to put our trash anymore This also saves resources, and allows producers to spend less and waste less on excavating new resources and using them for products M

+ Why does recycling matter to MNHS? Recycling is much better for the earth than simply throwing away recyclables – recycling at MNHS would give the school a better reputation Recycling has shown through extensive cost analyses by various local school districts to be cheaper than just throwing away recyclables If MNHS encourages students to recycle at school, they also encourage to follow the same practices at home As a large group faculty, staff, and students it is our duty as citizens of the community and as citizens of the planet to keep it as clean and healthy as possible A

+ Why some oppose recycling.. Many people oppose recycling because they think it is too much effort They think it is too costly Some think it isn’t worth it – they think that only reducing and reusing materials are viable methods of resource conservation D

+..And why they shouldn’t Recycling requires an extremely minimal amount of effort – the recyclable materials only have to be put in a separate recycling container, instead of the trash can Since it lowers the amount of trash that needs to be taken away by garbage services, recycling is usually significantly cheaper than just throwing everything away – especially in conjunction with reusing and reducing materials Though we should definitely try to reduce or reuse materials before we recycle them, recycling is still better for the planet than landfilling those materials In recycling, materials are sorted and eventually become a new product, saving the materials from sitting in a landfill, and also saving producers from having to find as much material to make products with – therefore, less of these materials are wasted M

+ Recycling is important! Recycling (as well as reducing and reusing) should be important in our school and in our community. Though we have the choice whether or not do these things to as individuals, as citizens, we need to make a decision to reduce, reuse, and recycle to help to maintain our standard of living. These activities help keep our community and our as clean and healthy as possible, and generally promote the common good of society and our planet. Therefore, as a school especially, we need to implement a new policy that helps us to take steps towards achieving the healthier that we envision. 100% OF LOCAL HIGH SCHOOLS SURVEYED ALREADY DO ! 100% of local high schools surveyed already do! A

+ Reducing, reusing, and recycling in MNHS means.. Less cost to schoool and students Healthier planet & local environment A better consciousness and deeper appreciation for the earth Good life habits and values instilled in young students D

+ MNHS and Recycling Marple Newtown currently only recycles cardboard This means that hundreds of recyclable plastic bottles and hundreds of pounds of recyclable paper are put into landfills by Marple Newtown High School each year alone If every student in MNHS bought and threw away an empty plastic bottle every school day, we would throw away around 216,000 plastic bottles a year. That would be approximately 9,125 pounds of plastic bottles put into landfills each year by Marple Newtown students alone. So in a student’s four-year high school career, they will have seen at least 864,000 plastic bottles be thrown away into landfills – aka tons of plastic bottles thrown away exclusively by students in Marple Newtown High School. *assuming one empty plastic bottle ≈ 18.9 grams M

+ Our Plan For MNHS, we propose that we not only initiate a recycling program – but a general “green” program regarding materials such as paper and plastic This would include reducing, reusing, and recycling materials within our school Organize educational assemblies and seminars to educate the staff and students of Marple Newtown about the importance of reducing, reusing, and recycling materials Aid the school in saving money on trash removal, as well as gaining a better, more earth-conscious reputation that could even possibly make the school eligible for related grants and awards A

+ Executing the Plan Encourage reuse of materials by selling aluminum water bottles, and setting up a fountain drink-type system instead of selling drinks by the bottle) as a greener alternative to plastic-bottled drinks In addition, since this would be a cheaper way for the school to provide drinks, they would be able to pay less for the refreshments that they buy, charge the students less, and likely still make a considerable profit Reduce paper waste by gearing MNHS in a more technologically advanced direction – more computer use and digital school work, less assignments on paper Recycle all excess materials such as paper, bottles, etc. that can not be reused otherwise D

+ MNHS is ready for a “green” program! The proposed plan would not only save the school money, but would help the students save money as well It would give the people of MNHS a better understanding of our world and how we can make it a healthier place – and the students and staff of are eager to participate! 93 % of Marple Newtown Senior High students surveyed said that they would gladly recycle in school if they could. M