Trinity’s founder, Reverend Canon A. Rees Hay, built the school on a 104-acre campus located in between lakes. His goal was to provide a grounded, natural environment for learning. Ironically, a campus that was initially built to connect students to nature doesn’t have sufficient practices to protect that environment.
From trash cans filled with empty water bottles to blue bins masquerading as recycling bins, Trinity and its students should do more to be better stewards of our beautiful campus.
In fact, students don’t always do their part to support the campus environmentally. The little things matter. Use fewer paper towels and napkins. Pick up after yourselves.
Environment America, a national network of 30 state-based organizations, notes that public schools alone produce over 14,500 tons of waste every day. In addition, K-12 schools spend around $6 billion on energy annually, much of which can be saved through sustainable measures.
Without the appropriate support from administration, one can only accomplish so much. Still, some students are determined to mitigate their environmental footprint by taking initiative when the school falls short.
“A lot of kids are switching to iPads instead of paper notes,” senior Katia Lyakh said. “I think there should be more of a movement there because some teachers still give you entire stacks of paper that you should do all your assignments on. I think that’s very wasteful, especially because kids just throw it away at the end of the year.”
Many institutions have taken steps to counteract this waste, except for a handful of schools like ours. Orange County Public Schools is implementing eco-friendly policies via Sustainability Efforts 230 policy, which focuses on environmental conservation, such as recycling, low-flow plumbing fixtures, smart irrigation technologies and installing solar panels.
By contrast, even if students at Trinity dispose of their waste in recycling bins, Trinity lacks recycling infrastructure. America is shifting the way items are being recycled due to rising costs. Unfortunately, it is cheaper for recycling companies to landfill materials than sort them, pull them out and recycle them. This issue impacted Trinity when the school switched waste management companies and abandoned recycling.
While this issue may seem overwhelming, Trinity can still partner with local recycling initiatives like curbside drop-off for common plastics, partner with other agencies that separate the plastics from the waste and improve sustainability education. Currently, Trinity uses Waste Management as their primary service for waste management, which costs around $500-2500 monthly with a school of our size. By exploring additional options such as optimizing smart waste infrastructure, the school can significantly reduce these costs over time and create a culture of environmental responsibility.
According to Head of Maintenance Jeff Sneed, Trinity used to possess a multitude of recycling options around campus to prioritize repurposing, but has recently cut down to only two streams of trash on campus that are contracted to leave Trinity to the same landfill — one for only cardboard and the other for a mix of trash. This recycling issue extends beyond Trinity, reflecting a broader challenge our waste management system is facing.
It all comes down to evaluating the tradeoffs. The school considered investing in solar panels for Nochur Sankar. However, the state of Florida has more regulations on energy alternatives than other states. The payback wasn’t as significant as it should have been in the short term.
“It’s always a financial decision,” Trinity’s Chief Financial Officer Michael Drake said. “Sometimes there’s benefits outside the finances, and we have to consider those.”
Still, the school can invest in other green energy efforts to increase energy efficiency. When it is bright outside, consider keeping the classroom lights off. Switch from gas heating systems to electric heating pumps to modernize HVAC systems. Ultimately, the school needs to combat its environmental impacts.
“It’s part of the stewardship of the school,” Associate Head of School Dennis Herron said. “And part of the responsibility is financial, and some of it is sustainable, and most importantly, it’s the students’ well-being.”
Despite these shortcomings, Trinity has made notable progress in developing a cleaner future for tomorrow. In Sankar, Trinity has implemented shades that are designed to minimize sunlight into the building. Maintenance has implemented computer-based control systems to minimize electrical costs and increase efficiency. Most of the lighting has been replaced by LEDs to preserve energy. Still, the administration has more to accomplish in the near future.
“Sustainability isn’t a one-and-done thing,” Drake said. “Sustainability is a process.”
