by Sabrina Reed

When school started this year there was something missing from the classrooms. Come to find out it was all of the little blue recycling bins. Kids are taught the three “R’s”: Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle. Students were confused that the school seemed to have gotten rid of the “R’s.”

PCM is not able to recycle due to high cost, and they are unable to find a company who is willing to pick up at the high school at a reasonable price. The school would not be benefiting money-wise to look for someone to pick up the recycling.

“Our location is tough,” Director of Facilities and Transportation Jeff Shannon says “It would cost a lot to have them pick up from Pella. There is not a front and rear loading recycling truck around here.”

There are many benefits to recycling, especially in schools. Some of these benefits are that it reduces the amount of waste sent to landfills and combustion facilities, preventing pollution, and it saves energy.

Even though the school does not use as much paper now because of our school computers, there is still use a good amount of paper being used. It would help out a lot if teachers would do more computer-based assignments such as using our Google Classroom and worksheets online to accommodate the rid of recycling.

Another idea to help with the recycling issue is for the students to possibly start a recycling club. This club would collect the recyclables from classrooms and take care of it themselves. This club could also spread awareness of the benefits of recycling.

Some students are looking into a proposal to bring the recycling bins back for the opportunity for teachers and students to still help recycle.

Shannon said, “I’m not saying it is not a possibility in the future, but for right now we do not have the funds for it.”