The Green Team is making efforts to establish a tri-bin waste system at Carlmont, which would consist of compost, recycling, and landfill.
This would be an expanded and more efficient waste system, as the school currently has landfill bins with several recycling bins around campus.
This club is led by President Celine Yang, alongside Risako Nozaki and Kristin Ma as vice presidents. Bringing this program to school has been in the works since the 2016-17 school year.
The program would bring awareness to Carlmont about proper waste disposal, which consists of landfill, recycling, and composting. Composting is any food waste that can be turned into a rich, nutrient-dense fertilizer.
Ideally, bins would be placed around the school, especially where students eat lunch, as well as in several classrooms. This would allow students to easily dispose of their landfill, recycling, and compostable waste.
As for how the club came up with the inspiration for the tri-bin waste system, it was due to the club noticing the amount of waste the school was producing.
“We noticed how many plastic bottles we were using without many recycling bins [on campus], as well as how much food waste we were generating, but would just throw into the trash [instead of compost],” said Nozaki.
In order to investigate the amount and type of waste the school was producing, the Green Team conducted a waste audit.
“Our club went through five to six trash cans and sorted them into recyclable goods, trash, and compost. We saw that the majority of the waste were compostable items, such as apples, bananas, and sandwiches. We found out that our school’s waste diversion rate is eight percent, which means that 92 percent of the school’s waste is going to landfill,” said Nozaki.
Last September the club officers presented their proposal for a tri-bin waste system to the school’s Governance Council, which is a group of teachers, students, and administrators who manage the school’s culture. The group made a Google slideshow to present their proposal.
“I think it’s a great program that will not only help students understand what it means to be environmentally-conscious but to think about what you do with your waste,” said Marcus Beltramo, a member of the Governance Council.
The executive club officers are seniors, so they hope to get this program established before they graduate. The club aspires to get the school involved and to have the students, teachers, and all administration excited to keep the school greener.
“These students can make anything happen,” said Jarrod Harrison, the Green Team’s adviser.
