Ivana Todorova

A student reaches into a recycling bin to remove trash. The members of Elements sort the recycling every Thursday to separate trash from recycling. “[The members] go get big bins from outside and then go around to each classroom and collect the recycling,” English teacher and club sponsor Abby Eisenberg said. “The hard part is they also try to go through and sort out the trash or anything that’s been contaminated.”

Elements Club met Nov. 20 2:35 – 4 p.m. in Room 2404. The club is sponsored by English teacher Abigail Eisenberg and meets every Thursday after school. Members spent the meeting time collecting the recycling from around the building and sorting out any trash before taking it to the outdoor dumpster. 

“We’ll go [to Room 2404] and get organized for 15-20 minutes,” club member Nahum Tamrat (10) said. “Then we’ll assign roles for people to go to specific parts of the school and pick up recycling. We go out, grab the bins, go in, recycle and then go to the recycling bins and dump everything out.”

Students split up to cover every hallway, collecting classroom recycling bins left outside the doors. Teachers receive an email telling them they can leave their bins out for the club to collect.

“I think at this point it’s such an expectation that sometimes [teachers are] like, ‘where’s the recycling?’,” Eisenberg said. “But I think that is a testament to what the kids do because it’s so consistent. 

The club ranges from 10 to 20 kids each week, but is always welcoming new members or students seeking National Honor Society hours. Tamrat has been a member for two years and enjoys the club’s goals. 

“We’re bringing more awareness to recycling,” Tamrat said. “I know most people just tend to throw every single thing that they have into recycling instead of trash. I think [Elements Club] is bringing more awareness [on how to recycle].”

Students who participate in the club range in grades and interests, but they are all joined by their passion to make the school a better place. 

“I think it’s cool that there’s people that are willing to spend their time [collecting and sorting recycling],” Eisenberg said. “It’s not a glamorous job. All things considered, the impact is relatively small, but it’s a big thing for our school to know that we’re at least doing our part to keep the recycling uncontaminated.”