Recycling
Kainoa, Kahiau, Kylie, Andrea Our project is a starting stepping stone for Kamehameha Schools to become a Zero-Waste school. Recycling only does so much to help our environment, but there are a lot of things that have to be addressed. The problem that come may see is how. I don’t think anyone would not support this movement, but I feel that people just don’t know where to start. To be a zero-waste campus there has to be at least a 90 percent diversion rate. If Kamehameha Schools were able to accomplish this, then we could set the bar. The school holds a lot of influence in just its name. They also least out a lot of land to businesses in Hawaii. Kamehameha could get those businesses to become zero-waste too, which would affect a good portion of Hawaii. Business would become also zero-waste which decreases our waste in the landfills. This movement would benefit Hawaii’s land, people, and life. Our waste going to the landfill would decrease. Our people would become aware of the need for sustainability in the island. I believe that people would feel better about what they are able to do, a lot of people know that there is a problem. If they had the opportunity to change it, they would at least try. People love this life on these rocks because of the land, ocean, and sky. They would care for the ones they love if we give them a way to do it and be able to see it. The group proposes a simple entry way to the movement of possibilities. We have come up with recycling. Starting a pilot for the change. From the groups basic knowledge, we are aware that there are some recycling that is already being done. The thing is we don’t know where it goes. Is the goods truly being recycled? So finding out data about how much we are currently recycling, what we are recycling, and how are we recycling it will be about background information. From that the group has seen that there are a lot more that can be done. Boxes get disposed of in dumpsters and cans/bottles get toste into regular trash cans. Taking Amy Brinker’s idea of just sticking a recycling bin by a trash can and weighing both the regular trash and recycled trash sounds do able, but if we did more and targeted dumpsters too, that would give us a huge result we feel. Information that we could gather is the amount that the school already recycles. The different materials that can be recycled beside the basic paper, cans, and bottles. Making a system for sorting the recycling things simple and doable for every student and staff member to participate. Finding organizations that recycle that material and get them involved with it. We know that there is somethings that can not be recycled, but instead they can be decomposed. To start on this project we need to gather a lot of information. We will talk to the current teacher running recycling for the campus and then talk to Amy Brinker if she has any information that could be useful to the group. Information we will be looking for is what materials that we see as waste can be recycled, who we could give the recycled materials to and how they will be recycled. Then with the information, we will be taking a small portion of that and putting it into action to get results and not just predictions. This project is going to be a lasting thing, where it will only expand and cause good. Where I feel our group is leaning to is just tackling the waste of bottles and cans that can be recycled. To conduct this, we will figure out a simple system that will engage students and faculty to participate. Measuring the materials that got recycled and the trash that didn’t get recycled. From the data you add the two together and that would be the amount that would had just been thrown away. After find the percentage of the trash that is now being recycled. Take the data for about a week to two weeks time. As more calculations are done we could find out how much could be diverted from landfills by just recycling a simple material. This project will not cost much if we plan out the system right. A few different bins for different materials that can be recycled should be enough to conduct this experiment. Along with cost, it will matter where the experiments will be conducted. The problem I feel that we will have is making something like recycling engaging because it is nothing new to anyone. What we will need to do is pitch the need to participate in this movement. I feel that this is a way that Kamehameha Schools could lead Hawaii in a movement to be more sustainable. Hawaii is seen as paradise to many that live and visit here, however, everyone sees it as we drive on the roads the trash that just gets dumped, the cans that could be recycled and reused. The reason why I like this project so much is one we are starting a movements to make a difference in the world which every person in the world wants to be able to do one day and two this is a way for students and everyone to give back to Pauahi who did so much for us. There are some sites down below of some stories and resources that we found that will help us conduct this experiment and educate people. Zero-Waste Stories/Research https://www.americanexpress.com/us/small-business/openforum/articles/how-one-hotel-became-a-zero-waste-facility/ http://www.earth911.com/work/zero-waste-business/ http://www.hawaiizerowaste.org/zero-waste/#.VS_9BrDF8zE http://paganpoet.com/recycle-list/ http://www.recyclehawaii.org/ http://www.bae.ncsu.edu/topic/vermicomposting/pubs/ag473-18.html |
Main PointsWhat? Recycling either cardboard, paper, or bottle/cans.
Where? Dumpsters or active trash sites. Durations? One-Two Weeks Why? Start to Zero waste |