Every person in America uses about 600 lbs.of paper products each year. But after you’re done with it, where does it all go? Less than 50% of the daily paper products we use are recycled and the rest are thrown in the garbage that is later sent to a landfill. (according to www.boisecoop.com/earthday-info)

But what can CHS do to encourage students to be more environmentally conscious? “I think if there were more recycling bins in the school more students would try to recycle, because I always have a hard time finding a recycling bin,” said Sophomore Pashantz Howell.

Recycling is a simple thing we could all do to make our world a better place. The process of recycling paper products produces 75% less air pollution, 35% less water pollution and uses 64% less energy than using raw materials. (according to www.boisecoop.com/earthday-info)

Many students at CHS are interested in making their school more green.“Honestly I think we could do a lot more [to help the environment]. There are 500 of us in this school and we make a lot of trash. It’s disgusting to live in an area where you are constantly surrounded by trash and we all could do something to help,” said Sophomore Karley Patti. Karley suggested the school place recycling bins in the commons during lunch for students to recycle their plastic water bottles. It can take up to 400 years for some plastic products to break down in a landfill. (Statistic found at www.boisecoop.com/earthday-info)

Recycling does nothing but wonderful things for the environment. “Recycling preserves natural resources and saves energy. The process to refine aluminum alone is so energy intense that by recycling one aluminum can, you could generate enough electricity to power a T.V all day long,” said High School Science Teacher David Bishop. Mr.Bishop also went on to list several things you can do to preserve energy at home such as installing water savers into shower heads and changing regular light bulbs to energy efficient CFL (Compact Fluorescent Light) bulbs.

So next time you are tossing something into the garbage, think twice and recycle instead. We all have to do our part to take care of the planet.