New recycling plan struggles

Members of Blair's new paper recycling initiative, which is aimed at reducing contamination of recyclable materials, encountered several difficulties during the program's first day of operation last Thursday. Fifty-four rooms were found with trash-tainted recycling bins.

Another problem encountered during the collection was locked rooms.

The initiative, designed by Communication Arts Program (CAP) teachers, creates a new system for collecting paper recyclables by enlisting CAP students to empty blue classroom bins during afternoon classes. The students then move the recyclable materials to the loading docks.

When mixed with trash, recyclable materials must be thrown out, according to science teacher and recycling coordinator Richard Moats.

Under the old system, teachers were responsible for transporting their own recycling bins every Tuesday and Thursday to larger cans located in the hallways. Custodial staff members then transported the recyclable materials from these cans to the large receptacles at the loading dock, where the materials were picked up to be taken to a processing plant.

Moats considers the old program ineffective because students threw trash in the hallway recycling cans.

Building Services Manager James Brown agreed with Moats,
saying that he suspects that the source of the problem lies in students' careless trash disposal habits. "The biggest problem is students not taking time to separate trash from the recycling in the first place," said Brown.

Blair's old program was evaluated last February by the Montgomery County Department of Public Works and Transportation and received a ‘C' grade. Later that year, the evaluation was upgraded to a ‘B.' Blair was declared to be in compliance with Montgomery County recycling regulations, which state that every public building must recycle at least 50 percent of its solid waste.

According to Brown, between 50 and 55 percent of the waste materials produced at Blair are shipped out for recycling. However, Brown called it "impossible" to calculate how much of Blair's recyclable waste is not recycled as a result of trash contamination.

Social studies teacher George Vlasits, co-creator of the new program, hopes the new system will prevent trash from mixing with recyclable materials. "I'm hoping that, starting immediately, less recycling will be corrupted," he said.

Moats feels optimistic about the long-term effects of the new system. He said that CAP's acceptance of the pick-up responsibilities will improve the overall quality of Blair's recycling program.

Moats is also working on a system for shaming students into compliance with recycling expectations. "We're in the process of using the security cameras to videotape people jamming their trash into the recycling bins," Moats said, "and we're trying to get them on InfoFlow."

The Special Alternative Reading Classes (SPARC) program is considering taking on the job of collecting can and bottle recyclables, according to Bob Gibb, a SPARC teacher.