NOCTILUCA May 2018

OPINIONS Appleton, Wisconsin May 2018 Volume XXIII

Issue V Page 4

The truth behind Appleton North recycling and why it’s important to be conscientious

Noctiluca MissionStatement The Noctiluca and north noct.com are the student-run news sources of Appleton North High School. Noctiluca and northnoct. com are designated public forums for student expression. Student editors make all content decisions. Noctiluca’s mission is to publish information relevant to its readers and its community. Its goal is to maintain high ethical standards and provide a desig- nated public forum for free and responsible expression of views. Appleton North High School

By Shia Ulman There has been rumors flying around the school that putting trash into the recycling bins placed around the halls makes no difference because Apple- ton North does not recycle and it’s simply a waste of time. In fact Appleton North does recycle. There are four garbage and two recycling dumpsters placed near the back pool doors of the school. Our well known custodial manager, Rodney, spoke about a trial run performed last year to recycle milk cartons but it failed after no effort was put in by the students. In fact when I talked to the Facilities coordinator, Mar- tin Hintz, he informed me that among the recycling bins throughout the school only a few make it into the recycling process. In order for the recycling bins to go to the center, the bin must not be contaminated. At the end of the day all night shift custodians go through the bins. If the bin does not have any contaminated content, it will be picked up either Tuesday or Thursday by Advanced Disposal. If it

ing to global warming. Re- cycling also provides job opportunities for our econ- omy. Recycling, reusing, and composting creates 6-10 times as many jobs as landfills and incinerators. Lastly the third step, after manufacturing, is purchas- ing the new products made from recycled materials. If you were to buy products that were easily recycled, or even products that could be reused, it would narrow down the waste you create. On average, the american makes 4.6 pounds of gar- bage everyday. If we, the customers, were to only buy materials that were re- cyclable and or made from recycled material then manufacturers will need to alter the way they make their products in order to meet the demand of the customer, inevitably caus- ing us to recycle more of- ten. This is in fact the ideal, but you, as one person, could make a change too. To make small cuts like re- using a Ziploc bag or going thrifting instead of buying new clothes would make a world of a difference.

5000 N. Ballard Road Appleton, WI 54913 Phone: (920) 832-4300

Mr. Ramponi, staff advisor, at: ramponiaaron@aasd.k12.wi.us.

Editorial Staff Senior Editor-In-Chief Jake Zajkowski Junior Editor-In-Chief Salma Abdel-Azim News Editor Maddie Clark Opinions Editor Carl Zuleger Features Editor Henry Ptacek Center Spread Editor Ahmad Abdel-Azim Culture Editor Sarah Fleming Sports Editor Kyle Hoffenbecker Photography Editor Olivia Molter Copy Editor Silvia Knighten Adithi Reddy Social Media Editor Amara Neitzke Graphics Editor Sonia Tallroth Online Editor Sarah Fleming Advisor Mr. Ramponi Contributors Ahmad Abdel-Azim Emily Benti Jack Cain

Here’s an example of what it looks like to properly use the recy- cling bins here at North. Photo by Olivia Molter

the sake of helping. This is really disappointing behav- iour. Why do we feel the need to be rewarded for do- ing something good for our community or school? The dictionary definition of a volunteer is “a person who freely offers to take part in an enterprise or undertake a task.” Volunteering is more than just doing some- thing good to help someone out with the expectation of a reward. Volunteer- ing should be something that we follow through with throughout our adult lives—not just the two years of NHS we partake in. For the rest of our lives, we will be given opportu- does have non-recyclable content, it will make the entire recycling bin ineli- gible to be recycled. In the classroom there are speci- fied bins for recycling, and for trash. If you are ques- tioning whether or not the item(s) you wish to throw away are recyclable, ask a peer and/or teacher and they may help. Do Not Throw Away an item/items that are not recyclable be- cause all the things in that bin will not be able to go through the recycling pro- cess. Well why recycle? Once everything is collected, it is processed and cleaned to be ready for manufactur- ing, which is the next step.

nities to volunteer. We are encompassed by a society that needs help. There will always be chances to chip into the community around you. But do not let that ruin the importance of volun- teering. Reality check: vol- unteering is not about you. Don’t get me wrong, NHS is a good organization. It brings awareness to events at school and in the com- munity; it shows students the importance of quality work. I understand the fact that participating in NHS may benefit your college applications, but do not volunteer just to get NHS hours. Instead, I would like to propose an idea - volun- Recycling saves energy. When products are made from raw materials ob- tained from recycled prod- ucts the effort and energy is far less than the energy needed to make products from new materials. For example, aluminum con- tains about 41 percent recy- cled aluminum. It takes 95 percent less energy to make a can from recycled alumi- num that from virgin baux- ite ore. Recycling reduces the amount of waste sent to landfills. Landfills being so densely packed, much of the degradation hap- pens anaerobically. This then creates methane gas, which is emitted into our atmosphere, also contribut-

By Emily Benti Being a junior and a stu- dent who is not in National Honor Society, I feel as though all I hear my peers talk about is their need to achieve all their volunteer hours. I strongly believe that NHS has polluted the value of volunteering. As a society, we have been so conditioned to only volunteer if there is some- thing in it for us. For exam- ple, during the week of the Pirate Queen shows, I vol- unteered to usher. I found myself in a conversation with a fellow worker where they asked if I was there for NHS hours. I repudiated, saying I was there just for teering for the sake of vol- unteering. Volunteer know- ing that you will not receive anything from it. Volunteer for an event or an organiza- tion you are interested in. Volunteer to get to know people. Volunteer to better yourself as an individual. Practice the idea of being a selfless person. What will happen to us as a society if we only do things for the sake of gaining something for ourselves? Drop the egotistical motivation and do something for someone else where you will not re- ceive anything in return. NHS is polluting the value of volunteering

Maddie Clark Alex Gowing Kyle Hoffenbecker

Rachel Kairys Tony Krueger Sophia Krupka Olivia Molter Amara Neitzke

Henry Ptacek Sonia Tallroth Mariya Todorova Tashia Ulman Benjamin Wespetal Jake Zajkowski Carl Zuleger