Every second Tuesday of the month, Oxford’s Environmental Conservation Organization (ECO) club gathers members, students, and volunteers to collect recyclables from classrooms in an initiative to reduce campus waste.
Led by senior and president Vicky Tran, ECO has taken over 500 pounds of plastic, paper, and glass to Sunset Recycling on Katella Ave, where the waste is repurposed. Students gain three service hours per shift and are excused from their 8th period to join ECO in their conservational efforts.
Volunteers split up into groups to visit different campus buildings and empty classroom recycling bins. After collecting all bins, participants regroup near the portable dumpsters to sort the waste into different material categories for efficient recycling. Then, ECO’s recycling directors take the organized trash bags to Sunset Recycling in exchange for club funds.
Tran works with ECO Recycling Director, senior Sari Sleem, to coordinate the monthly recycling excursions. Their overarching mission: reduce Oxford’s waste footprint.
“School campuses generate so much waste with all the materials students go through for assignments and projects,” Tran says. “ECO recycles hundreds of pounds of waste every year, and we try our best to reduce the amount of waste Oxford produces but we can’t do it alone.”
With only two Recycling Directors, ECO relies on volunteers to help alleviate the physical responsibility of handling the entire campus’s recyclables. Because of ECO’s smaller membership, Tran and Sleem hope to recruit more students as club refresh approaches in the second semester. Additionally, the club wishes to invite more teachers to maintain a class recycling bin.
“Promoting recycling could be done in a teacher’s meeting, just reminding them to fill out the recycling form to see if they actually want to recycle. Because we do have more recycling bins that we can use,” Sleem said. “And we want to publicize recycling more and tell students that they can get volunteer hours for recycling.”
“I would tell everyone to help ECO’s recycling out of the kindness of your heart. But as a senior knowing Oxford students’ kindness isn’t enough to motivate people, [being involved in] recycling looks very good on college apps — do some community service, show colleges you have hobbies outside of debate & math olympiads,” Tran said.
Beyond ECO’s recycling efforts, Tran emphasizes that school organizations and events should evaluate their waste production and disposal habits to better care for Oxford’s environmental footprint.
“Class Committee and ASB have many events that produce cardboard, soda cans, and recyclable paper products. While you’re already buying these items, please also consider how you’ll get rid of them once you’re done and how you can reduce your waste as much as possible,” Tran said.
Students interested in becoming involved with ECO’s mission to clean up Oxford can contact the club secretary, Mikayla Mariano, at [email protected] to be notified of future activities.
