Freshman Sean McCarthy pitched the idea of the trip because of his interest in recycling and how Malvern can improve their recycling process.
On Wednesday, April 25, several Malvern students could be found passed out in a van due to the hour long drive to the Total Recycle J.P. Mascaro recycling plant in Birdsboro, PA.
Most students on the trip were there to fulfill National Science Honors Society hours, but freshman Sean McCarthy was there for another reason.
“At the beginning of the school year… I noticed recyclables being thrown in the trash. I went to talk to Mr. Algeo about it. Then I made that short speech… then I tried coming up with more ideas,” McCarthy said.
He asked Assistant Head of School Mr. Ron Algeo and Head of Maintenance Mr. Jeff Kinney if Malvern could get more recycling cans. They responded with a good suggestion.
“Mr. Algeo and Mr. Kinney were talking and said J.P. Mascaro has tours, and they suggested that it would be a good idea [to go on one],” McCarthy said.
Sales Executive of the Total Recycle plant T.J. Stinson took students on a tour of the facility and gave them the opportunity to ask questions in a Q&A format. Many students and the faculty advisors took advantage of this opportunity.
The tour itself was around 20 minutes, much shorter than students expected. The facility contains a number of machines which all together filter out the recyclable material so that it can be sent to companies as new materials. Total Recycle is payed to take people’s recycling then makes it into a product fit for sale.
But Stinson doesn’t just do what he does because it’s a smart business model.
“It’s not only making a living. You’re fighting the good fight. You’re doing a good thing. I would say it’s the complete opposite of say a tobacco salesman selling you a product that is going to kill you,” he said. “I’m selling you a service that is not only profitable, it’s going to make the world a better place. I have children, I want to make it nice for them.”
Stinson believes that the biggest problem with making good recycling a popular practice is that it can be inconvenient.
“Convenience is a big thing with recycling. Humans are organisms of habit. We need to educate how recycling can help make huge strides to save our planet,” he said.
Science teacher Mrs. Anna Geider, like McCarthy, wants to improve recycling practices on campus.
“I think spreading awareness around Malvern about what can actually be recycled, and providing recycling bins on campus and at big events would be a fantastic idea moving forward,” she said.
Students like juniors Fran Curran and Cruz Sigala generally learned something from the excursion.
“It’s a much different process than I thought. All of the material is sorted here, but not remade into anything,” Curran said.
“The sorting machines are really high-tech. At school, if we get recycling bins across campus, it would really help the process of recycling,” Sigala said.
McCarthy thought that the trip went well and that good things can come out of the experience.
“I really liked it. I thought our tour guide was really good. I’m encouraged because I think it’d be great to have J.P. Mascaro talk to our students if possible…they seemed like they’d be willing to [give us cans] too,” he said.
Since McCarthy is very passionate about the environment, he wants to create an Environmental club for next year. “The main goal would be to push Malvern to become more environmentally friendly in various ways,” he said.
