Clean Up Your Act: Trash on Campus

The issue of pollution on Earth is a very loaded, complex discussion. With climate temperatures on a constant rise, the trash crisis is a dominant issue not to ignore, but to attempt to solve head-on. The question of solving national, even worldwide turmoil, is a very loaded question with various implications. Though it may seem impossible, starting in your own space and community can help you realize some of the overall causes and effects of trash in our environment. 

When I asked PHS students, in one-on-one interviews, about trash on our campus, they said it would take them less than a minute to find trash upon entering our quad. There was a wide list of reasons for this. Some spoke of the proliferation of plastic and paper products in our lunches, while others said a lack of resources such as trash cans and recycling areas. One component stood out from the rest, however: “laziness” as the main cause.

"Trash on Campus" by PHS senior Fidel Rebollar.

Sure, it may seem lazy in nature; I mean how hard is it for someone to take a few steps to the trash can to throw their trash away? But maybe it’s more than just “laziness” that causes people to litter. If we look deeper, perhaps the main root of the issue is that there isn’t enough urgency to understand the climate impact of littering. Perhaps, social media has made us desensitized to pictures of trash-filled islands and oceans, animals on the brink of death, and red-orange skies full of smoke. In a local sense, we’ve gotten used to seeing trash all over our campus, so it doesn’t strike us as an issue.

Trash in the classroom is a big problem on campus.

These photos were taken in hopes to open our student population’s eyes as to just how much trash is on our campus and how little is being done about it. Many students have suggested more recognition of the issue on an official level or aiding campus clubs such as Environmental Club in their efforts to help clean our campus. However we choose to go about it, our campus is also our home. Whether you go home right after school or spend the majority of the day at PHS because of extra-curricular activities. school is a vital part of our lives and our education facility should be treated with just as much respect as our actual education is. 

Cleaning up our campus can help us become more excited about coming to school and stepping on a clean, beautiful campus. So, the next time you’re walking to your dreaded 5th period after lunch, pick up a lunch tray or wrapper and feel proud that you’re contributing to cleaning up our act.

Even picking up one piece of trash on campus a day will help to clean our school. "Trash on Campus" by PHS senior Fidel Rebollar.