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A Student-Led Recycling Initiative
Recently I had the opportunity to meet Paige Dedrick, a student at Nichols School in Buffalo, New York. She introduced me to the Plasti-Gone Initiative, a student led project she founded with several of her classmates which aims at encouraging schools and business across the Great Lakes Region to reduce their dependence on plastics.
The Initiative ties in well with the Eco-Schools USA program and complements our consumption and waste pathway. In-fact the Plasti-Gone Initiative has been structured so that schools who complete the initiative can qualify for a bronze level award under the Eco-Schools USA program. Pretty cool!
I asked Paige if she’d be willing to write a case study for the Eco-Schools USA website, and she graciously accepted. Here is an excerpt from that case study where she highlights the challenges of embracing conservation at school:
“Sometimes, the high school dynamic can be disadvantageous for someone interested in sustainability. Remembering that re-usable water bottle is not always easy, and recycling the one you had to buy is not always convenient; for a community of busy and academically engaged students, convenience and ease take priority. At times I have found it discouraging that my peers and I are not always capable of accomplishing all that we should in the ‘green’ department. Nichols School’s sponsorship of our attendance at the Plastics Are Forever Youth Summit forced me to realize how important this work is. Sure, trigonometry and French conjugations absolutely should be mastered, but I recognized that the duty of stewardship is just as vital.”
You can learn more about Eco-Schools USA at www.eco-schoolsusa.org
You can visit the Plasti-Gone Initiative website at: www.plastigone.org
