Littering around the school after lunch has become a growing problem that affects both the environment and school staff. 

Every day after lunch, I see excessive amounts of trash left everywhere except where it should be: the trash bins. Although the school provides a sufficient number of bins, students still seem unable to resist throwing their trash on the floor. Walking through the courtyards as lunch is ending, I often see students throw their wrappers straight onto the ground. 

This issue would be concerning even if it involved only a few students, but unfortunately, it does not. It involves multiple students, many of whom are repeat offenders. 

This should not be taken lightly for many valid reasons, including its impact on wildlife. The other day, I was walking to class after lunch and was shocked to see a seagull with its mouth full of plastic after picking it up from center court. This upset me so much because it showed just how extreme the littering problem has become. It has gotten to the point where it is harming innocent animals and damaging the natural environment around our school. 

Littering in our school is an important issue that deserves to be discussed and controlled. The impacts have become far too extreme to continue pushing aside. Although our school has held several assemblies about littering, it clearly has not been effective. Students still do it because they know they won’t face any consequences, therefore becoming normalized in our school. 

Additionally, our custodians shouldn’t be picking up ridiculous amounts of trash after every lunch break. They are being overworked, and it is exhausting seeing them cleaning up our mess, even though we are the real problem. Not only do custodians have to pick up trash in center court every day after lunch, but also the bathrooms. Students often eat their lunch in the bathrooms and throw their trash directly onto the floor. There have been countless times when I’ve walked into a stall and have been shocked by the amount of food and trash thrown into the toilets and on the floor. Custodians shouldn’t have to be dealing with our laziness, and it’s, in my opinion, way above their pay grade. 

We as students are taking advantage of the privilege to have staff clean up after us. We shouldn’t just leave our trash on the floor because we can. There really is no excuse since trash cans are literally everywhere. 

So, littering is more than just a wild mess. It affects our campus, harms wildlife and places unnecessary pressure on our custodians who work so hard to keep our school clean. If we continue to ignore the problem, nothing will change. It’s time for both the students and the school to start taking responsibility.