About the Environmental Club

Cinco Ranch High School has been recycling paper with the help of its environmental club since the school opened in 1999. Since then, the school has looked for ways to expand its recycling program to include beverage containers (plastic and aluminum), but could not find a company willing to collect them from the CRHS campus. Last year, Katy ISD came to an agreement with Abitibi Bowater to start a pilot program at five of its campuses; CRHS was one them. This allowed CRHS the  opportunity to reduce the environmental impact of our school (2,850+ students and 300+ faculty and staff) by eliminating the hundreds of plastic and metal beverage containers that would have ended up in local landfills.

With PTSA funding, each classroom at CRHS (184 in all) received a recycling bin exclusively for plastic and aluminum beverage container collection. The pilot program ended before the school year was through leaving CRHS scrambling to find a way to keep its recycling program running. Students brainstormed ideas in class and came up with a temporary solution. They would continue collecting material that later would be divided among participating students, taken home and placed with the curbside recycling.

Today, Green Arrow Recycling in Katy has agreed to accept clean drink containers from CRHS for recycling if they are dropped off at their facility in Katy. Cinco Ranch students are collecting and rinsing beverage containers that Mr. Hoefer transports to Green Arrow.

The fundamental goal of this program is education.  We want our students, tomorrows future, to start finding ways to make a change.  These lofty goals, however, only come with the support of the community.  Keep Katy Beautiful is one of the organizations that is helping CRHS recycle. It has provided eight 50-gallon barrels, painted by community groups, for us to use.

CRHS will also recycle over a hundred pounds of alkaline batteries this year learn more.

Our goal is to establish Cinco Ranch High School’s recycling program as a model for other schools in the district, city of Houston and state of Texas (if not beyond).

Why is CRHS Recycling Paper?

Around forty percent of the garbage in the U.S. is paper.

If we recycle a ton of paper and purchase paper with post consumer content (PCC), we can save:

• 7,000 gallons of water
• 17-31 trees
• 4,000 KWh of electricity
• 60 pounds of air pollutants

A ton of paper is equivalent to 40 boxes or cases of paper (each case of 5000 sheets weighs 50lbs).

Paper recycling can also reduce the amount of chlorine products dumped into our rivers if an oxygen-based bleaching process is used. Pulp mills using chlorine for bleaching produce hundreds of chlorinated organic compounds (organochlorides) including dioxins. Studies have shown that dioxins are highly carcinogenic, lead to reduced reproductivity, cause genetic damage, and are persistent and accumulate in the environment, becoming concentrated as they move up the food chain. Oxygen, ozone, and hydrogen peroxide are some bleaching alternatives to chlorine and chlorine derivatives.

Note: KISD has not been able to find paper with post consumer content at a competitive price.

How CRHS collects paper for recycling:

Every classroom, office and workroom at CRHS has a paper-recycling bin. Students volunteer their time during advisory period to collect contents from each classroom.  They deposit this in the Abitibi recycling bin outside the school. Abitibi collects the paper on a weekly basis and the school gets a check.