Not to name any names, but at most of the schools I was working for over the past several years, the recycling efforts were completely inadequate. Considering the volume of recyclable materials consumed at schools, and the significance of recycling and slowing global warming, it's hard to understand why so many public schools (and probably many private schools, too) haven't stepped up to the plate more.

Left and right, I saw cans and bottles being thrown away in garbage cans rather than being recycled because there weren't enough recycling bins, or even the right types, for beverage containers. I often ended up rescuing bottles and cans from the trash myself, but ultimately, I knew that something bigger needed to be done.

Among all of the things that we're teaching students, I wonder how we can neglect to teach them how to be more responsible for their communities and for our environment. Plenty of student groups, such as global warming or recycling clubs, do take up some of the slack through their worthy efforts, but change should be taking place on a much larger scale at much higher levels. I tend to hate the terms "top-down" and "bottom-up," but they do apply here. I think there needs to be a real top-down approach to tackling school waste. Not only does failing to recycle contribute to global warming, but it doesn't make much sense economically either. Can't schools sell all these recyclable resources in bulk to make substantial amounts of money (or at the very least more money than they would spend on collecting and recycling the items)? Especially since there must be grants out there available for programs which aim to recycle more materials.