Students discover their eco-footprint by keeping trash

Senior Ruchie Bhardwaj found herself carrying around more than her backpack on the week of Nov. 28. Bhardwaj was one of the 87 students in AP Environmental Science who had to collect the trash they accumulated in bags they kept on their person, a task designed to remind them of the amount of garbage they generated in a week.

Most students don’t think twice before we toss something in the trash, a habit APES teacher Kristen Thomson has been trying to break.
“It’s a sort of a self-awareness thing I like to do,” said Thomson, who has been running the project every year APES has been offered.
Thomson said the idea came to her after observing another teacher doing a similar project.
At the end of the collection period on Dec. 5, students were required to do a lab write-up analyzing both the amount and variety of the garbage they had collected, paying attention to food, paper waste and hazardous materials.
Many students found the project both effective and informative.
“As an awareness program, it was definitely effective,” senior Ali Kothari said. “It made me realize how much trash I really produce.”
Others found that they tended to use a large amount of certain items.
“The amount of paper surprised me the most,” Bhardwaj said. “When I study, I like to write down formulas and such and ended up using a lot of paper.”
Both Kothari and Bhardwaj were inspired to make small changes in their lifestyle as a result of the project. Bhardwaj said she has made an effort to bring reusable water bottles to school and to cut down on the amount of paper and plastic bags she uses to pack her lunches.
“[The project] made me realize how much could be saved,” said Kothari. “I don’t always need to take a plastic bag for my sandwich; I can put it in a reusable container or I can take my own cup to Starbucks, just small things like that make a big difference.”