Chicopee schools ring in new year with recycling - WFSB 3 Connecticut

Chicopee schools ring in new year with recycling

Recycling is not a new concept to Chicopee schools.

In fact, several schools now recycle, including Chicopee High School. For more than a decade, a student-run organization called the Key Club has been in charge of collecting the school's recyclables.

"Every other Friday we go around the school and collect the recyclables ... like bottles and cans," said Cortney Johnston, a junior and Key Club member at Chicopee High School.

For two years, Chicopee High School also has another recycling program where milk cartons are recycled at lunch.

Although schools like Chicopee High may already have a heavy hand in recycling, the city still wants its other schools to recycle more.

In order to make this happen, the school committee is requiring all 15 city schools to recycle cardboard, paper, bottles and cans.

Recycle bins will also be put into every classroom to make this a habit for students and teachers alike.

Chicopee students like Ben Rodriguez believe it's a helpful solution.

"If it's harder for a student to find a bin, they'll be like, 'Ugh, I don't want to do this.' It's right in the classroom. I think it's easier," said Rodriguez, a junior and Key Club member at Chicopee High School.

The new requirements are not only going to make it easier for students and teachers to recycle more.

City officials also said recycling is more cost-effective than disposing trash, which will help Chicopee save more taxpayer dollars over the years.

"It's great, and I think it's kind of a habit to recycle and a thought to put into the students minds and teachers minds that we need to put this in the right container instead of just throw it out," said Karen Stanton, a science teacher at Chicopee High School.

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