1420WestSanMarcosBlvd

SanMarcos,CA92078

December5,2014

IsaacJones
DirectorofHighTechHighNorthCounty
1420WestSanMarcosBlvd
SanMarcos,CA92078

SalutationsMr.Jones,
MynameisAdrianneandIamafreshmanstudentatHighTechHighNorthCountythatcaresaboutourschoolandthe
environment.Iamwritingyouthislettertoenforcetherecyclingandcompostingatthisschool.Weneedtoeducateourgeneration
becausewearethelasthope,meaningthatwhateverwedowillaffectourworldandthegenerationstocome.Weneedtomakethe
compostbinvisibletoallstudentsandfaculty.Itshouldbeconvenientandeasyuse.Thereshouldbelesstrashcansandmore
recyclingbinsoutsideinthelunchareas,asmostofthetrashbeingthrownoutcanberecycled.
Ihavenoticedinthetrashanalysisthatourclassparticipatedinourschoolhasdifficultyrecyclingandcomposting.Iwent
throughatrashbinandonebyonepickedouteachpieceoftrashandmorethan50%ofthetrashwasrecyclableand/orcompostable,and
therewasntarecyclingbinnearit.Thisdoesntgivethestudentanopportunitytomakethedecisiontorecycle.Alongwithfinding
convenienceforrecyclingbinsoutside,thisalsogoesforthecompostingbininthecafeteria.FromthestudentsIinterviewed,theytold
methatovertheyearsinwhichtheyhaveattendedHighTechHigh,theyhadnoideathattherewassuchathingasacompostbinor
whereitwaslocatedonourcampus.Oneofmyinterviewees,LenikaAguilar,said,IneverusethecompostbinbecauseIdontknow
howtouseitandIdontwanttoendupbreakingit.IpassedbythatcompostbininmiddleschoolandIhadnoideawhatitwas.Itwas
justablackbinwithaveryvaguesignonit.HannaNoparsaid,Idontgoupthere,andshewasreferringtothecafeteriaarea.Our
compostbinshouldbelocatedinamorecentralplacewhereallstudentshaveaccesstoit.Studentssaid,Wecanteventellthe
differencebetweenthetrashandrecycle.IusedtoputmyrecyclablesinthegreenbinbutnowIseethatthereisnopointbecauseits
allgoingtotrash.(Novella)Ifthesebinsweremoredistinctive,thanstudentswouldbeabletorecycle.Oncethestudentsgetthehabit
ofrecyclingandcompostingatschool,theywouldtakethatandapplyittotheirhomeandcommunity,whichwillpreventevenmore
trashgoingintothelandfills.
Theenvironmentweliveinisgraduallybeingdestroyed.Ifwekeepoursamehabits,ourcurrentlandfillwillbefilledup
andwewouldneedanewlandfilllocation.Thiscouldmeanapossiblemoveforsomefamilies.Wearerunningoutofspaceonthisland
becauseofthemanybuildingsandhomes.Fornewlandfillstobemade,morespaceneedstobecreated.Accordingtoanarticle
KPBS.org,(http://www.kpbs.org/news/2013/nov/05/miramarlandfillsandiegocitycouncilzerowaste/)theMiramarLandfillis
scheduledtoclosein2022becauseitisgraduallylosingspace.Landfillswillbethereforeverandthereisnotmuchwecandoaboutit
unlesswereducethewastewegenerate.Theseareasproducecarbondioxideandothergreenhousegasesinouratmosphere,whichisbad
fortheenvironment,insomecases.InanarticleonScientificAmerican.com,itstatesthathumansemitmorethan30billionmetrictons
ofCO2(CarbonDioxide).ThisleadstoawarmingoftheEarthssurfaceatabout.8degreesCelsius(1.4degreesFahrenheit).Inthe
SeattlesCityActionplanin2011,theymadesuretomaximizediversionoffoodwasteandrecyclablesinlandfills,whichleadtomore
spaceinlandfills,andweshouldtakethatintoconsiderationaswell.
Changingtheschoolswaysinthrowingawayourtrashresponsiblyhasmanybenefits,includingthemoneywearespending.
Forthelast2months,ourschoolspendsabout$250onEDCOperweekthatsabout$1,000permonthandEDCOcomestwiceaweek
andeachtripcostabout$125.WecanreducetheamountofmoneywespendonEDCOanduseitforclassfieldtrips,schoolevents,
sportsteams,etc.,justbyhavingEDCOonlycomebyonceaweekormaybeevenjusttwiceamonthtopickuptheremainsofourtrash,
afterrecyclingandcomposting.Theseincentiveswouldmotivatethestudentstorecycleandcompost.
WeneedtoenforcerecyclingandcompostingtothestudentsatHTHNC,byholdingcommunitymeetingsandplacingsigns
aroundtheschooltoinformthestudentsandfacultyaboutthesituationathand.ThiscouldbedonewiththehelpoftheASB.In
addition,weneedtomakecompostingandrecyclingseemeasyenoughforstudentstoaccomplishwithouthesitation.Thisincludes
addingmorerecyclingbinsoutside.Thankyoufortakingmyplanofactionintoconsideration,andifyouhaveanyquestionsorconcerns
pleasefeelfreetoemailmeatasantaromana@hightechhigh.org.
Sincerely,

AdrianneSantaRomana
9thGradeStudent,HTHNC