The reliance on plastic water bottles has become an alarming threat to public health and the delicate balance of our environment.
At Lexington High School, various clubs focus on combating these environmental issues in school and throughout town. One such club is the Envirothon Club.
“Envirothon is first and foremost an environmental club, but we do also compete in the NCF Envirothon Competition which is both state and international,” Eileen Ho, a junior and captain of the club, said.
The Envirothon Club is one group currently attempting to instate a plastic water bottle ban. Plastic water bottles are used by many students at LHS because they are sold in school cafeterias and vending machines.. However, there are many detriments to plastic water bottles such as their contribution to long-lasting microplastics in the environment following their disposal.
“It really bugs me when you’re using [water bottles] for twenty minutes and then it’s going to last practically forever,” Caroline Ehmann, a junior and a captain of the Envirothon team, said.
Many agree with the policy because of the positive impacts it will bring to our community.
“Plastic bottles can be recycled, but a lot of it actually ends up in the garbage. I would one hundred percent support a ban on that,” Steven Wilkins, a science teacher and advisor of Envirothon, said.
While there are certain benefits to implementing this policy, potential issues regarding its feasibility have led to some people feeling conflicted. The lunches provided by LHS are free, so the school relies on selling other goods such as plastic water bottles. However, LHS plans to switch from plastic bottles to aluminum cans and other more sustainable materials.
“At first, when we spoke to Kevin Silva, who’s the director of the Lexington food services program, he was a little bit against it because he told us that the sale of plastic water bottles is a pretty significant source of funding and income for the program. But eventually, after we met with him a few more times, he told us that he was willing to go along with the ban,” Jocelyn Chen, a member of the Environthon, said.
According to Tomer Elkayam, a junior at LHS and member of Envirothon, the club wanted to make sure that they had full support from the school before going ahead with the ban.
“There have been a lot of people in the lunch program and stuff, and we didn’t want to force it out in a way that was not really helping people. We wanted them to cooperate and get out of it with something that would help all of us,” Elkayam said.
After months of negotiation, the Envirothon Club and the Green Team, a recycling initiative that organizes composting during lunches, were able to convince a number of people to support their plastic water bottle ban.
While there has been some question as to whether or not the ban will be beneficial or detrimental to LHS, most people seem to agree that it is time for a change.
“If you’ve been buying plastic water bottles, it may seem like a hassle but just know that that little change you are making is making a big change overall. Sometimes you have to sacrifice something,” Ho said.
