Garbage at local high school upsets residents

By Tamara Neely
staff reporter

Persistent piles of garbage at the Foothills Composite High School have made one Okotoks resident lose patience.
“It’s just disgusting — it’s truly gross,” said Ken Kunz. “Driving by there every morning is just brutal.”
Kunz wants something done about the food wrappers, cans, bottles and other waste that is commonly scattered through the student parking. He said he wonders if the school needs to provide more waste receptacles and if the school’s peace officer needs to step in.
“I think it’s disdain and a lack of respect. When I was growing up there’d be the odd person making a mess, but most of us didn’t do that,” said Kunz. “I think the kids (today) are in a rush and they are growing up to be me-me-me.”
Students at the Comp said the mess is due to laziness and being in too much of a rush.
Grade 12 student Matt Hammond said laziness overrides students’ environmental awareness.
“They know how to do it, they’re just not willing to do it,” said Hammond. “We’ve had announcements (in school) saying the garbage is getting insane and I’ve seen teachers picking up the garbage.”
Hammond also noticed a man — not a janitor and not a teacher — picking up the garbage last Wednesday.
“That parking lot just looked like a dump,” said Hammond. “By the time I got back (from an errand on Wednesday) that parking lot was sparkling clean.”
Hammond said he would like to see recycling bins included in the parking lot along with more garbage bins.
“That way the school could get a little more money for fundraising,” said Hammond.
There is one garbage bin at each end of the parking lot.
A group of girls walking through the lot on Friday agreed more receptacles are needed.
“If they were conjoined (the garbage and recyclables bins) then kids would recycle,” said Steph Green. “It’s a really crappy garbage can we have now —you have to lift the lid and when it’s cold the lid is frozen to the top of the can.”
However, Green’s friend Jessica Hernandez said she doubted that even a conjoined set of recyclable and garbage bins would result in recycling.
“Kids are lazy — if they have a handful of garbage they’re going to shove it in one place,” said Hernandez.
Emma Jenkins lives across the street from the school. In the past she has been so frustrated with the amount of garbage she sent a letter to the school staff and students signed by 19 neighbours asking for the problem to be addressed.
Jenkins said that she has noticed a marked difference in the amount of garbage left behind, and has seen students carrying trash to bins and dropping it off.
“They (staff and students) are doing something because it has been a lot better,” said Jenkins.
What upset Jenkins is that students dropping their lunch bags and wrappers indicates an attitude that they think it’s not cool to walk a McDonald’s wrapper over to the garbage bin and that if they drop their trash someone else will deal with it.
“It’s not being a responsible citizen. I don’t think people should think someone will pick up after them,” said Jenkins.
Jenkins said she is pleased to see that the magpies, ravens and seagulls have quit flocking to the school, looking for snacks — a sure sign that the school is on top of the situation. She said the teachers and parents have the power to effect a change in the students’ attitude.
The school’s vice-principal Scott Carey said the staff does teach students about being responsible citizens. Carey said teaching a mindset of care is more effective than trying to get the students to abide by 50 rules.
“A philosophy we’re trying to adopt at our school is the concept of responsible use, whether it’s cell phone, parking, or garbage, and getting the students to think about the implications of their actions,” said Carey. “We still have rules, but if we’re in the business of creating citizens, it’s to get students to think about their actions rather than doing something just because there is a rule.”
Students are more environmental savvy than previous generations. Recycling bins for drink containers sit beside trash bins inside the school, and classrooms have paper recycling receptacles. However, people will only recycle if it is convenient, Carey said.
“It’s no different than if you’re walking through Southcentre Mall. The average person is going to put their bottle in the garbage even though there is a recycling bin 200 yards away,” said Carey. “I don’t think the kids should be held anymore accountable than the rest of society.”
In recognition of the problem of litter in the parking lot and the school grounds, classes are on a rotating schedule through spring and fall months to pick up trash. In addition, some students who have broken school rules will sometimes be given garbage pickup duty.
To address the lack of waste receptacles the school put in a request to the Town of Okotoks for more waste bins this semester.
Kunz, who also regularly drives by Holy Trinity Academy (HTA), said HTA doesn’t have the same problem with garbage in the parking lot. He pointed out that there aren’t the same number of fast food restaurants within close vicinity of the school which may be a factor.
HTA principal Rob Allen said they can’t take any credit for being any more environmentally responsible than the Comp because they, too, have had complaints from neighbours about student garbage.
“We’re trying to keep our neighbourhood clean, but we’re not doing a perfect job,” said Allen. “If the Comp parking lot is littered and ours isn’t, I don’t think that’s fair, because I know I could go out there and pick up a bag of garbage.”
HTA students do head out on waste collecting missions, however. To fill the required 30 hours of public service some students choose to pick up garbage between the school and the 7-11 store on 32nd Avenue.