Of the garbage Americans throw out, half could be recycled. That waste is enough to fill a football stadium from top to bottom every single day according to a study from the University of Utah.

That seems like a lot of waste being recycled, but everyone could do better, especially all of us.

We are a “green school,” and we even have a flag hanging up in chemistry teacher Laura Bell’s room to acknowledge it.

It is sad, however, that recycling bins are nowhere to be seen in the cafeteria, students are not encouraged to recycle and it is only optional for teachers to have recycling bins in their classrooms.

According to the American Federation of Teachers, schools and other education facilities often are among the largest waste generators in any city, county or state.

Some teachers still use tons of paper; meanwhile, students have Chromebooks, which are capable to substitute for some of that use. Not only would this help our school save trees, but it would also keep the air we breathe clean.

According to Recycle Across America, making new paper from recycled paper reduces the related contribution to air pollution by 95 percent. Therefore, recycling does not just save trees, but it helps solve other troubles like help keeping the air clean.

With the help of the leadership class, every Wednesday, students take paper recycling bins from each class and they throw the waste into a huge recycling dumpster outside the back doors.

That alone is still not enough.

Tin, glass, plastic and even electronics can be recycled as well.

All students should take part in recycling, not just the leadership class students. The necessity to be more passionate for the cause of simply keeping this Earth a cleaner place is desperate.

A realization must be made that the more our generation wastes, the more future generations are going to have to suffer the hardships of our ignorance of not caring about the planet we inhabit.

All students and teachers need to be more considerate of what they throw away and see if there is a way to reuse a material. Recycling is still important, whether it is practiced or not.

To help out the future generations, we urge you to practice recognizing recyclable materials instead of just throwing things away.

Look at labels, recycle and contribute to the cause to keep the Earth healthy.

Tuck away things that are reusable, buy reusable products such as silverware, straws and bags.

Others may pick up the habit so more may help. But the school needs to provide places for those students to recycle. There has to be more bins and more reminders to do so.