Student Recycling Project Catches Lawmakers’ Attention

A high school student project turned into legislation for a statewide recycling initiative to reduce paper waste in schools.

Sahan Rao, a sophomore at Fremd High School in Palatine, Rao teamed up with State Rep. Suzie Bassi (R-Palatine) to create legislation to update regulations on recycling in schools.

Bassi then sponsored House Bill 4159. The bill just passed out of the Environment and Energy Committee and is currently in the House on second reading.

Rao,15, of Rolling Meadows, testified in front of the committee in support the legislation. She spent six months researching paper waste in schools as part of an assignment for a critical thinking program at school.

“I have always been interested in the environment,” Rao said. “This project was a real eye-opener because I didn’t know how much of an impact a 30 percent increase in recycled paper would do for on the environment.

“Every day I get at least three to five worksheets in all my classes. Sometimes the teachers don’t even use both sides of the paper,” Rao said. “If each student in Illinois alone was given just one sheet of paper from their school every day, more than 348 million sheets of paper would be used each year. That’s just one piece of paper. Imagine what the number really is since most students get a lot more than that every single day.”

The bill would require school districts to implement a comprehensive waste reduction plan by July 2010. It amends the school code by updating benchmarks on the percentage of total dollar value of paper as recycled paper, beginning with July 2008 at 10 percent to July 2020 at 75 percent of compliance.

Schools would have to review their procurement procedures and make an effort to use products and supplies that are reusable or made from recycled material if economically practical.

“You’re preventing cutting down additional trees and you’re also being cost effective,” Bassi said. “As good stewards of the community this is something that everybody should be doing, not just school districts.”

Bassi, a former teacher, said the bill is a mandate, but is one that does not cost money, doesn’t burden classroom time and is left up to the school board to implement the program.

“We will certainly have to update school districts on the changes if the bill becomes law and determine if administrative rules would need to be drafted,” said Matthew Vanover, spokesperson for the Illinois State Board of Education.

Vanover said even though there are no specific consequences to in the bill, the state board would work with the school districts to bring them into compliance. The burden to review procurement procedures is left up to the local school district.

Bassi said that the Illinois Association of School Boards (IASB) opposes the bill and plans on addressing its concerns prior to having the bill moved to third reading for a floor vote.