Preserve and Conserve

1. Highlight the Problem

Our school uses more paper than is needed. We feel our consumption is way too high unless we make a few changes!

2. Action Plan Description

Collect data on how much paper we're using compared to how much we need. Then, educate high school students and staff about how much paper we are using, and the benefits of recycling. Next, email teachers to promote online technology use to assign and grade work. Additionally, put up posters and encourage recycling around the school. Lastly, host a teacher competition to see which teacher can use the least.

3. Research & Rationale
After we interviewed students, teachers, the faculty, and staff, we discovered that the majority of students only recycle when told to and some students encourage recycling. Our custodian, Greg Buckner reported that every week about 1,400 pounds of paper are being recycled. We spend about $55,232 dollars on reams of white paper alone. Our school purchases around 300 reams of paper a month and each ream contains about 300 pieces of paper. Thus, we will encourage administrators, staff, and students to decrease paper usage and recycle when possible to decrease our school's carbon footprint! After we tabulate our results, we will write a letter to the Board of Directors summarizing our findings about the benefits of reducing paper consumption and make a recommendation on future policies the school can adopt to encourage more conservation.

4. Goals

Make staff more aware of the alternatives to making copies and inspire them to try new methods
Encourage the administrators to invest in more tools and technology that enables teachers to cut down on copies
Motivate students to recycle more

5. Timeline

This project will take about three weeks. During the first week we will gather final pieces of data, and write our letters to the board. We will then present Recycling Week to the high school classes and start the competition among teachers at the end of the first week. Then within the third week we will collect data from the competition, and other pieces of data, and compare it to the first week’s data.

6. Who’s who?

All of the participants will be the high school students, the administratiors, and staff.

7. Resources

We will need our school principle to allow us to host the competition, and also find a time during the day to present to high school classes about our issue. Another resource is to get important data from our high school office worker, Bonny.

8. Challenges

Some obstacles would be, students being uncooperative and the principle’s disapproval of the teachers competition week.

9. Evidence of Success/Evaluation

We will survey the students to see if we had made an impact on our issue. We will also check how much reams of paper were use within the week, and compare it to how much paper the school used in the past. We will know that we are successful by checking how much paper the teachers copy, and by arranging a time to talk with the custodian to see if we could count the amount of paper being thrown into the trash.

10. Publicity

Write an article to the school's newsletter to spread the word about paper consumption and it’s effects on the environment.