America Recycles Day

 

Hello fellow anthropologists!

Today is the 25th America Recycles Day!!! It is a day that highlights the importance and great impact that recycling has on our society. 

I am very excited to spread the knowledge of this day and the great importance that recycling has on the environment. At my school, I have recently come up with plans to create a new recycling club. Recycling is one of the easiest and most common practices that is present in everyone's lives, and it is a lifelong sustainable practice. That is why I am motivated to truly advocate for the improvement of the recycling infrastructure within my school.

Some of the practices I want to introduce to my school include placing recycling bins in all hallways and in busy locations, putting signs up to indicate which items should and should not be recycled, placing trash cans next to recycling bins that way students can throw away trash and recycle other items, and educating students. Educating students sounds extraordinarily broad, but I do have a few ideas in mind. I think that by holding informational assemblies with students and teachers, the club can introduce its ideas to a great number of people. I also think that participating in the school news would incline other students to join and learn about recycling, thus, educating more students. I also feel that by simply putting the word out there and reminding people everyday to recycle will hopefully create a positive perspective change. 

I believe that while there have been great efforts in recent years to improve and increase recycling within the USA, I still believe there is always room to improve. According to the EPA** "the recycling rate has increased from less than seven percent in 1960 to the current rate of 32 percent". This is incredible to see that with the minimum education that has been present in schools, the recycling rate has still increased. Just think about how much that number could rise if students learned about such practices in great detail in schools!!! I believe that my club and other schools can easily advocate to teach students the importance of recycling and educate them how to recycle properly and to view their impacts in a new and powerful perspective. 

While partaking in this project, I am excited to learn about the culture within my school and the various perspectives that students hold within my school. I believe that I can actively apply what I learn to the field of cultural anthropology as culture plays an immense role in the development of one's personal beliefs. I hope to write about my observations and to positively impact some of those mentalities. 

**References: https://www.epa.gov/recyclingstrategy/america-recycles-day