By Jim McConville
SHREWSBURY – A new bin has popped up next to the typical trash and recycling receptacles in the halls, classrooms and gymnasium of Shrewsbury Borough School. Its message is simple: “Recycle plastic bags and film here.”
Students who have finished their peanut butter and jelly sandwiches or cream-filled Oreos are directed to deposit their single-use plastic bags into the white bins with the brown tops.
The “green” initiative is led by Trex, a leading company in the field of composite decking materials. Available in more than 40 countries around the world, the company is seeking to provide new options to the traditional use of wood in deck-building. The SBS student council is looking not only to satisfy a need to prevent single-use plastic materials from piling up in landfills but also spread awareness through their school of the importance of being a conscientious consumer.
Ryan Gilmartin, eighth-grade student council secretary, highlighted the importance of making the school as eco-friendly as possible.
“Being eco-friendly means recycling,” Gilmartin said. “It’s so important for the younger kids to understand how our environment is being hurt. When they get older, it could be much worse, so they should learn from an early age to care for the environment.”
To spread awareness, members of the student council, including president Jackson Issenman and Gilmartin, made a presentation to the elementary students during lunch recently. Displaying visual examples of the types of products that can be used for the Trex recycling program, the eighth graders encouraged their peers to participate in a movement that benefits their community.
Allison Wiesel, a science teacher and student council co-advisor, is hoping the initiative builds an increased sense of responsibility in her students, while also broadening their understanding of the detrimental effects of climate change, a topic they are currently studying in class. Wiesel and Kelly Cosentino, co-advisor of student council, said they can’t overstate how important this project is for the students.
“The students have a responsibility to the environment and to their community,” Wiesel said. “We want to empower them to feel that they can have an impact even at such a young age.”
The more concrete purpose of the Trex challenge is to recycle these plastic items, ranging from produce and bread bags to newspaper sleeves and dry cleaner bags, into “Earth-friendly composite decking and railing.” Giving something that was intended for only one purpose a whole new lease on life, the students are sparking a new sense of pride in the well-being of their community.
On a monthly basis, the collection is taken to a local supermarket to be sorted and eventually sent to Trex where it will be compressed and turned into wood-substitute building materials. The initiative lasts until April 15, concluding just before the school is expected to participate in various Arbor Day celebrations.
The adoption of the Trex Challenge inside the halls of Shrewsbury Borough School comes as part of an increased nationwide student interest in activism. Inspired by other newsmakers and young people on the front lines making positive changes, students at SBS are encouraging their classmates and younger students to take an interest in issues that could serve to improve the world around them, beginning in the halls, classrooms and gymnasium of their school.
