The wet-dry trash system at the upper school has a single guiding principle: entirely compostable items go in wet bins, while non-compostables fall into dry.

The problem? More than a year after it was implemented, some students still aren’t following the rules.

The trash system, this year’s green challenge and a possible book drive were all on the Green Team’s agenda at 11:20 a.m. today, where eight students led by adviser Diana Moss proposed solutions to make the school more eco-friendly.

“I think people know about the wet and dry system, they just don’t care,” senior Green Team member Karen Tu said during the meeting. Karen formed her assessment after a meeting between the Green Team and student council this Monday.

In a street poll of 112 students taken today, four students found the wet-dry system very confusing, 14 found it moderately confusing, 57 found it somewhat clear and 37 found the system very clear.

Vivek Bharadwaj

“People don’t know why we’re doing it, so they have no impetus to actually follow it. It is slightly confusing, with the whole ‘paper trays and napkins can go with your banana peel’,” Green Team member Satchi Thockcholm (10) said. “I can see why that would be kind of confusing.”

Campus waste management is the largest issue under consideration by the Green Team; the coalition of students and teachers is tentatively planning its annual trash audit on April 6. With assistance from the associated student body (ASB), the team will sort through an entire lunch’s worth of trash to assess the wet-dry system and quantify the amount of waste.

“I feel like it would be easier if we also had a recycling bin – people get confused,” Nina Levy (11) said. “I think it would help people if you made it – instead of wet/dry – compost/trash. I feel like too many people put stuff that’s dry into wet.”

In addition to working with the trash system, the Green Team has regularly posted tips on the student portal bulletin board and will organize a “green challenge week” preceding Earth Day (dates to be announced). The challenge week will allow students to track themselves completing eco-friendly tasks, such as using a single paper towel in the restroom or picking up litter outside, to rack up points in the competition. The team will court donors to sponsor prizes, with possible collaboration from Spirit Club.

“I think the Earth day assembly and the week leading up to Earth Day is the idea [I am most invested in],” team member Akshay Battu (12) said. “We had this plan for a couple of months – we really wanted to make this important so that people can appreciate the earth, and also to give people a better idea of what we’re trying to do with this club.”

Other agenda items included exposing students to the Joulebug app, where students can earn badges for eco-friendly behavior in the Harker community, and replacing the open trash cans in Manzanita. The team is also considering a book drive to help those in need.

“This [book drive] would be a school-wide event where we would collect books that would be donated to underprivileged kids.” Kunal Bhandarkar (10) said. “A lot of people throw out books, which doesn’t make any sense to me – you can still use them after you’re done reading.”

The Green Team meets during the first half of long lunch every Wednesday and will continue to collaborate with ASB to increase campus sustainability.