Responsibility calls

School course themes are similar throughout the state as they do their best to educate the youngest generation of Washingtonians. The importance of environmental protection is stressed as back-to-school season has come around full swing. Are students prepared to hit the books green-style?

“Kids in school districts generate a lot of waste that needs to be recycled,” said Jack Marchant, father of a Mead High School student. He emphasized that aluminum cans and pop bottles are especially a problem.

“I’m not really sure about recycling,” said Spokane teen Eric Tanner. “I would recycle more if I understood it,” said Tanner’s friend and fellow Spokane teen Leonard Costa.

Confusion is evident in some teens when it comes to putting the 3 Rs (reduce, reuse, recycle) into action. The main factor in the recycling ambivalence of youth? Some just don’t understand it.

According to JupiterResearch, a main authority on Internet impact and business technology, 38 percent of teenagers express concern for the environment through the act of recycling. So where does this leave the other 62 percent of us?

Thanks to workers like Ann Murphy, education coordinator for the Spokane Regional Solid Waste System, those confused teens won’t be in the Valley of the Baffled for very long.

“Recycling is a responsibility of each and every one of us,” Murphy said. Back to school is full of new and exciting responsibilities, and students will be jumping all over them. Murphy is making it easy to be green, even on the trip back to school. “All it takes is creative problem-solving,” Murphy said.

Targeting a group of students who are driven is a sure way to inspire and spread the facts about recycling. While students fill their minds with the wonders of an education or participate in after-school sports, they often underestimate how much change they’re capable of making within their schools.

“Students can accept responsibility and take time to implement changes,” added Murphy, stressing the student body’s ability to educate each other.

Tackle the confusion monster head-on with the best weapon; knowledge.

Contact Ann Murphy at 625-6580 for more information on educational videos, books, posters, board games and other curriculum for your classroom. When working with the Spokane Regional Solid Waste System you’ll be able to host an educational display, plan a speaker, or travel to a “Waste to Energy” facility tour. Education is king when it’s back to school, and learning is the name of the game, especially when you’re as dedicated to the environment as these J-Camp rock stars.