Littering on school grounds: why it has to stop

Looking outside around Urbana High School, it seems to be full of litter. So much garbage piled up on our school grounds.

Staff member Joan Jach and her students are doing something to change that.

Jach has her students help pick up trash around the school during her class periods when they finish their work early.

“I think that it teaches them a few things. It teaches them ‘Oh this is actually happening around here’ and also teaches students ‘Hey we can make a difference in how our school looks’ and they can give some pride in how their school looks,” said Jach.

Having school pride is what high school students value during their four years. When the atmosphere of our school is lacking from all of the litter thrown around, that can be hard.

“It makes me sad [when people litter] because it makes me think that people don’t respect their surroundings and that they’re being consumers of whatever it is, soda, fast food, that consumerism is having an effect on the environment,” stated Jach.

Principal of UHS Jesse Guzman agrees. [When there is litter around] “It makes it look like we don’t care about our building. It looks like we can just litter and it’s somebody else’s responsibility, and that really gives a perception of ‘It’s somebody else that can pick up after me;’ ‘It’s somebody else’s responsibility’ when it’s not, It’s really our responsibility.”

Not only is littering killing the environment, but it also sets a negative image for UHS.

“Just the image that it [littering] gives, it also gives the feel of the culture and climate of not respecting our space. It is something that to me is foundational to making us look good, when people come in they want to see a clean building,” said Guzman.

While all of this can be unfortunate, there are things that can be changed to help encourage the amount of litter to change.

“I would love to see regular student participation in picking up litter on a regular basis. I would also love to see those garbage cans that sort recycling and trash, and I would also love to see at least one more trash can in the parking lot,” stated Jach.

Guzman agrees. “We can invest in some trash cans out there, [and] make some better signage.”

Hopefully, these upcoming changes will create an inspiring impact on the community of UHS because creating a positive environment and atmosphere at the place where we spend 7+ hours a day is fundamental.

Whether it’s consumerism or just high school students being high school students, the amount of litter is killing the environment. Let’s make a change!