By AARON MARASIA
New York State’s new plastic bag ban brings to mind other efforts being made in the state to reduce the amount of plastic that is used and not recycled. According to the “New York Times,” “the New York City Council plans to consider banning the sale of disposable plastic bottles at city parks, beaches and golf courses.” In Suffolk County, an act has been passed that will ban the use of plastic straws and styrofoam containers in restaurants. These measures will drastically improve the aquatic habitats surrounding Long Island by eliminating a major contributor to the plastic that ends up in our waterways.
At Jericho High School, some efforts are being made to reduce the amount of plastic that goes to waste. According to the Assistant Superintendent for Business Mr. Manuel, the school district orders 2,800 plastic water bottles monthly for students to purchase in vending machines and cafeterias. In an effort to limit this number, approximately 25 filtered water bottle refill stations have been added throughout the school district in the past few years, with about half of these installed in the high school/middle school campus. These water stations encourage reuse, and they limit the amount of waste contributed by single use plastic bottles.
Mr. Manuel said that the school district plans to eventually replace all traditional water fountains with these filtered water stations.
AP Environmental Science teacher Ms. Bhasin uses these refill stations to fill up her reusable water bottle “2 to 3 times a day.” Her class reviews the harmful effects plastic has on the environment and ways to become more sustainable to protect future generations. A few of her main points in being environmentally-friendly are having a recycling bin in her class, educating students on the damaging effects drinking water from plastic bottles can have on their health, and reducing the amount of paper used in her classroom. However, she still feels the we can make more of an effort. She said, “One of the first things I would do is ban the use of single-use water bottles by the cafeteria. I feel the school encourages the use of plastic water bottles by making it relatively inexpensive to buy.”
While there are no current plans to fully eliminate plastic water bottles in the school, the District is hoping the water bottle stations will decrease the number of plastic water bottles purchased. Mr. Manuel hopes that by increasing the amount of filtered water stations, eventually we can “eliminate or minimize the need for selling the water bottles.”
These recycling bins outside the high school cafeteria are actually not used to recycle. They were used for a holiday toy drive.
Another way the school could reduce the number of plastic water bottles that are purchased is by either selling or giving out reusable water bottles. According to the “New York Times,” in 2018, 320,000 New York City high school students received free reusable water bottles from the company S’well. Jericho High School junior Russell T. purchases plastic water bottles daily but would consider bringing his own reusable water bottle if the school provided him with one. On the other hand, senior David K. strongly opposes using reusable water bottles. He said, “I like to buy Poland Spring water bottles.”
It is clear that the rising amounts of plastic ending up in our environment are extremely hazardous. Whether it is in Jericho, the greater New York area, or other various places around the world, people are making positive efforts to limit the amount of plastic that goes to waste.