At a springtime conference in Myrtle Beach, industry officials said that too few people in the Carolinas are recycling to meet growing demand for recyclable materials. Hundreds of students in Henderson County schools, however, are doing their part to help.

"The Henderson County Public School System believes in the benefits of recycling, and is providing a collection service for the recycling of mixed paper and cardboard. Seventeen Henderson County public schools are now regularly recycling mixed waste paper and cardboard. Paper waste is estimated to make up almost 40% of a school's total waste stream.

I help recycle because it doesn't make any sense to waste this much paper that could save energy, water, and trees," said Hannah Fritschner, an 11th grader at Hendersonville High.

Read What Other Students Have to Say
Plus More Details About Programs at Individual Schools

For many schools recycling mixed waste paper is a new project, since it is left up to individual schools to design their own internal (in-house) collection systems. For the past two years, in cooperation with Bo Caldwell, school system Facilities Management Director, the Environmental Education Committee of the Environmental and Conservation Organization (ECO) has been offering and providing assistance in getting the mixed paper recycling started by talking with teachers and staff, providing each classroom with labeled cardboard collection boxes, laminated “ What Is and What is Not Mixed Paper ” instruction sheets to post, and “ Why Recycle Mixed Waste Paper? ” information sheets. Students, from first graders to high school seniors, faithfully and efficiently collect the mixed paper from each classroom each week and at most schools deposit it themselves in the proper dumpster outside the building. Each school designs a plan that works best for them. At some elementary schools, the custodians take the paper from a hall receptacle to the outside dumpster. GDS picks up the mixed paper and cardboard (which schools have been recycling for several years) weekly and takes it to Asheville Waste Paper Company.

Let's Do Even More

Some students want to expand the recycling. A few schools have already started collecting aluminum cans, plastic containers, cell phones, pagers and ink cartridges. Learn more about ECO's school recycling project; contact Mary Jones at 891-2934.

Here's what the students who actually handle the recycling of mixed waste paper in their schools have to say about it.

At Hendersonville High School , 10 th grade student Chris Bakke declares, “Recycling is my way of making a difference in the community,”

11 th grader, Hannah Fritschner states, “I help recycle because it doesn't make any sense to waste this much paper that could save energy, water, and trees.”

“Recycling is a great and easy way to do something beneficial for the community. It does a lot more than most people realize,” adds10th grader, Nicole Oslund .

These Hendersonville High School students are members of the Rotary Club sponsored “Interact Club” which handles the mixed paper recycling for the school.

Charlotte Thurman , a senior, adds, “The Interact Club recycles every Wednesday in hopes to make a positive ecological influence. It only takes a few minutes to make a huge difference.”

“It is my hope that, by recycling, we will foster a love for the environment in our school. We need to start recycling as much material as we can in order to preserve out natural resources for future generations,” says senior Hollis Rhinelander .

“It's good for the environment,” according to 9 th grader Matt Foster , “All the ‘kool kids' do it.”

Austin Newman , 1 st grader at Bruce Drysdale Elementary , smiles, “I get to go around to desks and ask other students if they have any mixed paper they're through with and then I put it in the mixed paper box. I like doing that.”

5 th grade recyclers Mark Pryor and Anthony Capps at Clear Creek Elementary both say, “We hope this paper gets made into more paper. We feel good about what we're doing; it could save trees, give us more oxygen…. help the environment,”

Brandon Sikorski , 9 th grader at Balfour Education Center thinks, “It's easy and a good idea. I hope this paper gets made into more paper.” He laughs, “Hey, maybe it could be made back into a tree!”

“We rotate this job. Sometimes it's tiring but I'm glad we're doing it. It helps save trees – makes the air cleaner,” admits Scott Williams , 5 th grader at Edneyville Elementary.”

Fletcher Elementary fourth grade students who do the mixed paper recycling believe in what they're doing.

“I like to help out nature. I do research at home and school about trees and plants,” Madison Odom declares.

Logan LaFontaine observes, “Most people put paper in the trash but they should have a paper bin and a trash bin.”

Shyheim White says, “People should start recycling more at home. Recycling saves trees.”

Bo George thinks, “People should start recycling at home and stop throwing trash in the water, too.” and Steven Extine believes “Everyone should start recycling better to help the plants and animals.”

At Dana Elementary the 2 nd grade takes care of the recycling. Michael Maneen believes, “Recycling helps clean our earth.”

Gunnar Harris thinks it saves trees, and Ashley Cook says, “Recycling performs a real service.”

8 th grade recyclers at Apple Valley Middle School agree. Amber Myers thinks, “It helps keep the earth clean, saves trees.”

Michael Vesely hopes,“They can make new paper out of it – recycling saves energy, don't have to use as much energy making paper out of old paper as it would take using new trees.”

East Henderson High 9 th grade “Earth and Environment” class recyclers weigh the mixed paper each week before it goes into the dumpster and say they collect 300 to 350 lb. of discarded mixed paper each week.

Student Liz Smith comments: “If we spread this to all the schools, how much do you think we could get? One thing that could use recycling here is the styrofoam lunch trays. We use hundreds everyday and they're just going to take up space in some landfill. Hopefully, we'll be able to expand recycling at East even more by getting bins for plastic and aluminum.”

Tiffani Anders : “I think recycling is a wonderful idea. But if only everyone did it. But why stop at paper? Plastic, glass, aluminum. It can all be done. I do believe that every classroom & home should recycle. If we do it enough maybe one day we can make a huge difference in the environment.”

Brittany Foster, Jocinda Barnette , Sydney Osteen, Don Mayo , and Josh Delnar all believe schools and everyone in the community should be recycling cans and plastic bottles as well as mixed paper and cardboard. Jocinda says, “We do our best to keep reminding the students and staff to recycle.” Brittany adds, “At high school students drink a lot of soda and water as well as use a whole lot of paper.” Josh feels, “There is too much paper being used!”

Sarah Cagle declares, “I think that recycling is fun and helpful. Even I recycle at home with soda cans. We have a separate garbage can for it. I think that all people should recycle!”

Amber Roberts states, “In my family we recycle at home, and seeing my school recycle too, is awesome! Recycling at school is a great contribution to Henderson County and the environment. It's amazing what a simple task can do if everyone pitches in!”

Teachers, principals and custodians are pleased with the success of the recycling project. Clear Creek Elementary teacher Kim Bain believes, “Recycling mixed paper is a great thing. It teaches kids good conservation habits.”

At Bruce Drysdale Elementary , Principal, Dr. Connie Brown says, “I walked into a classroom where the class had been cutting and pasting paper for an art project, and I heard the teacher asking students to put the ‘mixed paper scraps' – she didn't say waste paper – in the mixed paper box. They don't call it waste paper any more.”

Terri Redden , teacher assistant there believes, “ It's a great project. The kids are knowledgeable now about recycling and whoever's been good gets to take the paper to the mixed paper recycle bin in the hall.”

Custodians at Bruce Drysdale , Lloyd Heatherly and Mark Lewis comment, “ Since recycling mixed paper we see a lot less volume of waste in the regular waste/garbage dumpster.”

Balfour Education Center custodian, LaFaye Baker , says “I think recycling mixed paper is a good idea. It's even less work for me because the kids take care of it.”

At Edneyville Elementary Principal Christine Smith declares, “This program is good for kids – teaches them to take care of the environment.”

Custodian there, Eric Peters : “It's easy for me, because students help. They empty the indoor bin with the mixed paper into the outside dumpster.

At Hendersonville High School the recycling coordinating teacher, Walt Cottingham explains, “The student ‘Interact Club' handles all the mixed paper recycling. They're good dedicated kids and they do a thorough job. GDS provides a compactor because there isn't room to put three regular dumpsters at our school, so there is no separate dumpster for mixed paper. Interact Club members have developed an efficient system to collect and bag the paper each week, load the bags into a student's SUV and then dump the paper in the big mixed paper containers at the recycle center on Stoney Mountain Road.”

East Henderson High School t eacher coordinator, Jeff Shook , a certified Environmental Educator, declares, “One section of the 10-12 sections of the 9th grade “Earth and Environment” class does the mixed paper recycling each Thursday. The custodians like it because it cuts way down on the waste they have to deal with.”

The students use various cardboard boxes to collect mixed paper from each classroom, load the boxes and/or bags on rolling carts and take them outside to the mixed paper dumpster.

Fletcher Elementary School teacher recycling coordinator, Tracey Graham , says her 4 th grade class does the mixed paper recycling. Principal, Shirley McGee , says she is proud of the program and the custodians like it, too, because students take care of it and it leaves much less waste for them to handle. She says, “We really don't have any problems with the project.” Fletcher Elem. has been recycling mixed paper for 4 years. Mrs. Graham bought the plastic recycling bins from Wal-Mart and the school reimbursed her. Every Friday Mrs. Graham's fourth graders collect the numbered plastic bins from each classroom, empty them into the outside mixed paper dumpster, and return them to the proper room.

At Dana Elementary School coordinating teacher, Becky Russell says, “Dana Elementary has been recycling mixed paper for over 5 years, even before I came here. The second grade classes do the mixed paper recycling. We offer to recycle discarded paper from every classroom and office for a service fee of $2 a room for this service. So far we have bought several picnic tables for the school with the money earned this way. If the second grade didn't do this, the whole school wouldn't be recycling. We use different children each week; each 2 nd grade section collects different areas of the school.”

Wal-Mart donated 2 tall gray recycling receptacles that the students dump the discarded paper from classrooms into. They also use cardboard boxes, load them on to the custodians' wagon and take them outside to the mixed paper dumpster.

Assistant. Principal, Jenny Moreno and teacher, Collette Summitt , coordinate the recycling using 8 th grade students at Apple Valley Middle . They rotate students and include children from the Exceptional Children classes to help do the recycling.

Custodians there, Mike Bolden & Valarie Duchell declare, “Since we've got lock bars and put up lots of signs we don't have people dumping after hours. We have to keep up the effort but it works.”

The biggest problems have been with people in the community dumping garbage/general trash in the dumpsters after school hours, especially the mixed paper only and cardboard only dumpsters and occasionally “in-house contamination” – the wrong items getting put in the recycle dumpsters from within the school. This hurts and complicates the recycling program. Bo Caldwell sees to it that schools have lock bars installed on their recycle dumpsters if they request this service which seems to eliminate the after hours dumping. Lots of signs and continual reminders can eliminate “in-house contamination.”

Students, teachers, and staff want to know what happens to the paper next, who buys it, and what kinds of things are made from it. They want to know that what they're doing is a worthwhile project. Does it really help conserve our natural resources and save the school system some money?

According to Randy Murphy , GDS Asheville Manager , “It costs the County less to recycle than to send all waste to be disposed of as garbage waste. There are three costs involved in general waste:(1) renting the dumpster, (2) the cost of the truck picking up waste and delivering it to the landfill, and (3) the dumping cost charged by the landfill. When cardboard and mixed paper are taken to AWP there is no dumping cost, because AWP makes their money by selling the materials. This reduces the cost to the County school system. If mixed paper and cardboard were not recycled in this way, the bill to the County would be twice or more than the amount it is now.

GDS handles waste not only from Henderson County schools but from Haywood, Transylvania , Madison , and Buncombe Counties school systems as well. Henderson County Schools are the only county school system recycling mixed paper so far . “ They are in the forefront of school recycling programs in western NC,” Randy Murphy says , I use Henderson County as a prototype for recycling for school districts and municipalities and I use information from ECO's instruction and information sheets to help promote recycling in other counties.

Mr. Murphy says it takes a faculty coordinator, students actually doing the collecting from classrooms and dumping the mixed paper waste in the outside mixed paper dumpster on a regular basis, and the support of the Principal and school staff to make recycling work well in a school. “If students are doing the recycling, the rest of the student body will support the project.”

That is just the way Henderson County schools are handling the project. Students, from first graders to high school seniors, faithfully and efficiently collect the mixed paper from each classroom every week and deposit it in the proper dumpster outside the building. Coordinating teachers supervise, offering praise and encouragement. GDS picks up the mixed paper and cardboard, dumps it in together and transports it to Asheville Waste Paper Co. where it is separated according to type of material.

Cam Pace, Vice President of Asheville Waste Paper Company, Inc. says: “We've come a long way in recycling during the last ten to fifteen years. It used to be that all ‘waste houses' primarily handled industrial cardboard and paper for companies, because businesses knew they could save money by recycling these items. Now ‘John Q Public' has gotten into it and recycling has become much more widespread.”

According to Mr. Pace there is a big market for cardboard and mixed paper. Companies need the fiber they provide. “There is never enough fiber,” he says, “Mills used not to care about mixed paper, but now they are always looking for new sources of fiber.” China is a huge market for cardboard and paper. “Right now they're using somewhere around 17% of the world's recycled cardboard and paper and will be using over 50% in a few years. They aren't set up to produce enough of their own.”

US paper mills process the cardboard, “cooking it down,” making it into good recycled cardboard, different kinds of heavy paper and brown paper bags. In different processes the mills take all kinds of mixed waste paper, making recycled paper and specialty coverings for a variety of products. Linpac Paperboard Co. in Cowpens , S.C. and National Gypsum Co . in Anniston , Alabama remake paper waste into a paper surfacing material used for covering sheetrock, a common building material for wall coverings.

“We get more money for clean white waste paper,” Pace says, “It gets remade into higher quality recycled paper, paper products, and especially toilet tissue.

Asheville Waste Paper Company sells to seven southeast paper mills, including Linpac Paperboard Co., Cowpens, S.C., Jackson Paper Co ., Sylva, N.C., Carotell Specialty Paper Co ., Taylors, S.C., National Gypsum Co ., Anniston, Alabama, Visy – Pratt Industries, Atlanta, GA, and others, also to mills in China. It takes a minimum of 20 tons (40,000 pounds) of cardboard to make up a trailer load. AWP sorts and packs the cardboard and mixed waste paper they take in, then transports and sells it to these various mills in trailer loads.

Students in Henderson County public schools who are conscientiously collecting mixed waste paper from classrooms each week for recycling wish everyone in the County would recycle, too. They want people to know that recycling 1 ton of waste paper saves 17 trees, that making recycled paper, or making paper out of paper, uses only half the energy and half of the water that it takes to make paper from trees (virgin pulp). By recycling waste paper precious natural resources and energy can be conserved, pollution is reduced, and less space is needed for landfills.

Their instruction sheets identify what is and is not mixed paper. They want to share this information with the public and hope this story will inspire others to start recycling, too.

Just what IS Mixed Paper: Loose notebook paper, office paper, colored paper, magazines, catalogs, junk mail, phone books, paperback books, boxes (other than cardboard), file folders, envelopes, newsprint, newspapers, spiral notebooks (minus the spiral), poster board, posters.

What is NOT Mixed Paper: juice boxes, hard cover books, plastic-coated paper (covers for a ream of paper), wax-coated paper, paper clips, rubber bands, cardboard, food products, plastic bags, soda bottles, cans.

In addition some schools individually handle the recycling of aluminum cans and plastic and through Network Technicians, even ink cartridges, cell phones, and pagers. Etowah Elementary, Hendersonville Elementary, Hendersonville Middle, Rugby Middle , Upward Elementary, and West Henderson High each recycle one or more of these items. The GDS contract with the schools covers only cardboard and mixed paper.

Recycling involves the collection, processing, marketing, and remanufacture of materials into new products. The process works only when the recycling loop is completed. A recycled product must be purchased and collected again for the cycle to continue.

(submitted on March 17, 2005 to Jim Wooldridge by Mary K. Jones, Chair, ECO Environmental Education Committee)

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