Imagine if all the paper coffee cups students throw away after long nights were turned into something new. Imagine if all the waste we threw away was recycled and turned into something useful. In fact, this idea is why Americans recovered 34 percent of waste in 2009, research shows, according to Keep America Beautiful.

The United States threw away 161 million tons of material, which amounts to about 3 pounds of garbage per person per day.

Leadership teacher Corey Baird’s class helps the U.S. tap into the recycling effort with its own program by recycling in the high school. Students collect the different recyclable materials from classrooms and send them to Granger Recycling in Lansing, a mid-Michigan company with service areas from Ionia to Pinckney. In 2014, Granger recycled 55.3 million pounds of materials.

“After Granger, the different grades of plastic are ground and washed,” Granger service representative Denise Slocum said. “The recycled resin pellets are sent to manufacturers that make new plastic products.”  

The recyclable materials in the U.S waste stream would generate over 7 billion dollars, if people recycled them into new, useable items. It is economically wise to recycle, and those materials can be made into new materials.

It is estimated that 75 percent of the American waste stream is recyclable, but only about 30 percent is recycled.

“Students can help more than they realize,” sophomore Ashley Khozouie said. “Even if you don’t recycle everything, you’re still making a world of difference.”