With the help of the small neighbourhoods grant program, I was able to successfully create a recycling bench for my high school. Climate change has proven itself time and time again and as a small community it can be hard to make a difference but we then become a large part of the consequences. Being able to help educate the next generations and help make the high school as close to zero waste will make a big difference in my community as kids can take the information home and help make their families greener.
With the grant, I was able to build a 16-foot recycling station with 8 bins for different recyclable materials. The 8 materials were; hard plastics, soft plastics, aluminum, cans and bottles, glass, compost, landfill and paper and cardboard. I ordered durable plastic bins from unline which are colour coated with recyclable materials. I then built the bench, one 8-foot and two 4-foot stations to make it movable to make sure it will be compatible with the area it will be placed in. Finally, I ended up making 8 posters which had the information of what materials could go in which bin. When making the posters I tried to relate to materials that high school students would most likely have with them such as ziplock bags and possibly food containers.
This recycling station will be put into full use next year and will be completely student-run. Unfortunately, this year due to covid we couldn’t quite get it up and running before the end of the school year but I have contacted some younger students who are eager to take on the responsibility of the recycling station for years to come.
