Majority of students attribute laziness to the reason behind the problem of trash left anywhere in the school.

While students say they know that trash should be thrown away, it is a common sight to see litter left on the floors and lunch tables. Students believe setting more trash cans throughout the school is not the solution, but rather a change in attitude.

Students argue that littering is not an act of malice, but simply students not realizing the impact it has on others. “They just kind of forget as they are going from place to place and kind of assume someone will take care of it,” said junior Kate Thomason.

Student Alliance President Jacob Imber agreed that the root of the issue stems from laziness.

“No matter how many trash cans we put in a common space, it will always be easier to leave it on the ground,” said Imber.

This issue has become more prevalent with the completion of the new building. The new building, which has many locations for students to sit and relax, is accumulating more trash in these areas.

“The benches in the lower level of the concourse, the first floor outside of Trevian Commons, and in the cafeteria itself are the areas that are the worst” said Facilities Manager of Physical Plant Services, Steve Linke.

Student-lead campaigns about throwing out trash have proven to be successful in the past, like Throw It Out For Real, a parody of the song “GDFR” by Flo Rida, parodied by Student Alliance and starred Kinetic Wellness teacher Andrew Horne. “When students are in the midst of a campaign we see the amount of trash that gets left out reduced,” said Linke.

These campaigns are successful as students express to the rest of the student body that it is their responsibility to throw away their trash and not that of the custodial staff.

Linke agreed that the responsibility to throw away their trash falls on students. “Our custodians’ job is not supposed to be to pick up trash that is left all over the floor, it’s supposed to be dumping trash and sweeping the floors,” shared Linke.

While it is not the job of the custodial staff to throw away the trash left on the ground, some students don’t understand the magnitude of the issue as their trash is always picked up for them by fellow students or a custodian.

According to the Throw It Out For Real video, New Trier fills five garbage bags just with trash left on the ground every day. That is enough to completely fill a small bathroom stall every single day.

Bender thinks that many don’t throw away their trash because they are unaware of how much is left on the ground.

“I think it would be interesting if one day they just didn’t pick up any trash and the students had to be stuck going to school in their trash,” said Bender.

Since trash left on the ground still remains an issue, Student Alliance is looking to prioritize this issue for second quarter.

“Most of our project so far this year have been pretty event-based and so we haven’t had as much time to pursue individual projects, so cleaning up is definitely at the top of our radar,” said Imber.

Ultimately, students feel change will come from a shift in the mindset of fellow students. Sophomore Arman Bozkurt, believes throwing away trash is an easy way to have a big impact on the school. “It’s a really small thing to do that would help out on a grander scale,” said Bozkurt.