New Trier’s trash problem is one that has not gone unnoticed over the years. At least, to the school’s Physical Plant Services (PPS) it hasn’t.
Luckily, the school has stepped in with the No Trash November program, in which the entire month of November is dedicated to keeping the school cleaner by letting students know why it’s important to do so.

Geoff Donahue, a PPS member who has been working at New Trier for eight years, says that the trash problem at the school is “not too bad. It’s decreased over time.”
Most people have said that they thought the highest trash zones in the school are near the scrounge and small cafeteria, but Donahue said that the highest trash zones in the school are near the main entrances of the school, with no further comments on the matter.

When told that the highest trash zones are near the entranceways, junior Drew Marschke says that, “Now that I think about it, I’m not very surprised, but that definitely wasn’t one of the first thoughts I had.”

Senior Jack Walker said that “People are really reckless about leaving their trash in the second floor rotunda.” When asked why people are not cleaning up, Walker said that it’s “Probably because there aren’t trash cans that are particularly close to those people, and that’s probably a reason why people don’t recycle a lot of their stuff either, because there might be trash cans close but recycling bins won’t be, so it’s just easier to throw away aluminum cans. There should be more trash cans.”

“I don’t think it’s as bad as everyone’s been saying,” said Marschke. “For me, personally, I don’t walk around and see a huge pile of trash. It’s normally just one wrapper, and if I see it, I’ll pick it up.”

When presented with the question of the amount of trash cans at New Trier, Marschke said “I think there’s enough trash cans, but maybe not enough recycling bins.”
The trash problem at New Trier is present largely in part by the students. Even though they know they should pick up their trash, sometimes they don’t. Julian Good, a junior, said that he and his friends aren’t good about picking up their trash.

When asked about the importance of picking up trash, Good says it’s not important because “It doesn’t really affect me.” However, Good also states that if his lack of trash pickup negatively affected others, he would feel “guilty.”

Leading the No Trash November effort has been the in-school service group Peer Helping. Students in the No Trash November subgroup of Peer Helping create posters and distribute handouts that encourage students to throw out their trash and to pick up any litter they see in the hall.

An informative short film documenting the trash problem at New Trier was put together by two senior students last year. The film documented both the day and night shift clean-up crews, and contained interviews with multiple PPS members as well as other teachers, students, administrators.

“It would help if [the students] were aware of what we have to do on a day-to-day basis,” said PPS member Carlo Felix in the film. “We have areas to clean, and in addition to that, we have setups. We have athletic activities, concerts, banquets- it depends on what’s going on on any particular night, and sometimes, we have two, three, or four things going on at once.”

“It’s somebody’s effort, blood, and sweat that makes this place what it is today,” said PPS member Bill Franz in the film.

“If you think of it as, if you wanted your bedroom or your house to be as nice as you wanted it, this is what it takes for us to give you what you need. Just respect our time and our effort a little bit more.”