XENIA — A class project is changing how Legacy Christian Academy deals with trash.
Faced with nearly 100 pounds of post-lunch garbage on a daily basis, senior Jake Black developed a recycling program to help cut down on waste, give back to the Earth and eventually give back to the community.
“We waste so much, if we could use it in a good way, that’s our goal,” Black said of his environmental science class’ initiative. “(After lunch) there’s just trash cans full of (recyclables). There’s food that people buy, but they don’t eat it. They just throw it away.”
The goal is for the school to use trash that can be composted to create a greenhouse and a garden to grow vegetables and other goods that can be donated back to those in need in the community.
“We wanted to have an actual end result,” Black said. “Make (recycling) a priority. We want to say ‘guys, put it here.’ “
Every student wrote a proposal and Black’s was chosen by the school administration, according to teacher Amy Pickens.
“It’s amazing,” Pickens said of her class. “They really buckled down in writing proposals.”
Black’s project trickled down to the seventh and eight grade students, who broke into groups and designed recycling bins.
The best idea — chosen by the staff of the Greene Soil & Water Conservation Board — came from seventh graders Maddy Merritt, Caroline Kensinger, Rachel Harmon, Hadleigh Burdette, and Lucy Holohan, who used a filing cabinet on its side to create space for the recycled items.
Kensinger saw something similar on Pinterest and pitched the idea to her pals.
“I thought it was really cool,” she said. “We all painted it.”
Added Merritt, “We cut cardboard out and put it in to divide it. (First) we had to draw it on something.”
Their bin has spots for paper, glass, metal, and plastic and was deemed the most durable and practical.
“I was really excited,” Burdette said. “I didn’t think we were actually going to win. It was really fun spray painting it.”
The hard work of the younger students caught the attention of the high schoolers, who were happy to have a helping hand.
“They just saw the vision we had … and they really wanted to be a part of it,” Black said. “They just took action. They got right to work.”
Added senior Danielle Norman, who has wanted this type of project at the school for a while, “I think it’s really cool how we got them involved. They were like really super creative. I think it’s going to really turn out well. It’s an easy way to make a difference.”
That’s all the students want to do.
“We’ve had recycling bins before but we’ve never done it,” Black said. ” We’re going to compost it. Completely putting it back in the environment.”
