New Swampscott High introduces recycling plan

SWAMPSCOTT – Big Blue is going green.After months of working to implement a school-wide recycling program at the high school, members of the Swampscott Interact Club will finally see their efforts rewarded.Senior Katie Booras, who has been a member of Interact since her sophomore year, said the amount of paper being thrown away in schools is staggering.”I spoke to someone with the recycling company,” she said. “They told me that they pick up one or two tons of paper a month from each high school in the program.”Booras said in her sophomore year, a recycling program got underway at the high school on Forest Avenue. but it never made the transition to the new high school on Essex Street.Superintendent Matthew Malone said recycling programs are in place district-wide with the exception of the high school on Essex Street.”Somehow an area for recycling was not incorporated into the design of the new high school,” he said. “Laws governing the placement of trash and recycling Dumpsters are very stringent and the two can’t be placed together. We have been working with the Health Department to find an appropriate place for the recycling Dumpster.”On Friday afternoon, Malone said a Dumpster had been ordered and would be in place in less than two weeks.Malone said he applauds the efforts of the students to protect the environment and raise awareness of the importance of recycling.”I think it’s awesome when kids are proactive,” he said. “The students should be commended for thinking globally.”Booras said Interact would like to hold a school-wide assembly to educate students about the program and proper use of the recycling bins.Interact is Rotary International’s service club for young people between the ages of 14 and 18. The clubs are sponsored by individual Rotary clubs, but the Interact clubs are self-governing and self-supporting. Swampscott Interact is only one of several clubs started by local Rotarians. The Swampscott club started as the Teen Outreach Program of Swampscott, an organization at the high school, which expanded into Interact under the guidance of the Swampscott Rotary Club.Through their service activities, members of the Interact Club learn the importance of developing leadership skills, personal integrity, respect for others, advancing international understanding and the importance of individual responsibility and hard work.