At MSMS, protection of the local environment is taken very seriously by students and faculty. The School Environmental Awareness League, or SEAL for short, takes pride in their commitment to keeping the Columbus area clean. SEAL plans to keep to their previous commitment to Columbus by have a year full of volunteer efforts to help the area.

“On September 24, which is National Public Lands Day, SEAL will have our first cleanup project at East Bank Lock and Dam.From 8 a.m. to around 2 p.m., we will be picking up trash and working up a sweat” said Baili Zhong, MSMS senior and co-president of SEAL club SEAL will be aiding the National Army Corps of Engineers, who help run the local public waterways, remove trash that could endanger local wildlife or local water goers.

Zhong went on to recount his involvement in last year’s clean up trip, “Last year, over 900 pounds of litter were picked up at Luxapalila Creek Park, and I was able to join in the effort.”

This dedication to keeping Columbus clean does not cease at volunteer work outside of class; it also weaves itself into MSMS with SEAL’s recycling program. Students can find blue recycling bins that are maintained by SEAL club outside the dorms and inside all of the academic buildings. “It’s your world too, you should care and you should do something about it” said Dr. Bill Odom, sponsor of SEAL.

For recycling in the school to be effective, students need to know what they can and cannot throw away in the recycling bins. Paper, cardboards, aluminum cans, and number one and two plastics are all allowed in the recycling bins.Columbus does not recycle glass or any plastics that have a number ranking above two, so those materials need to be thrown in the regular garbage. The most important thing students need to remember when recycling is that no food can go in the bins; if food goes into the recycling bins then all the recyclables need to be thrown out into the normal trash. Students should also consider washing out soda cans before recycling them.

Considering students follow these rules when recycling, the future for recycling at MSMS looks bright thanks to another project that SEAL is working on alongside engineering club. “We are going to start collecting plastic that we can use to grind up to make plastic for the 3d printer” said Dr. Odom.

With all of these projects that SEAL is bringing to the table in the 2016-2017 school year, the year looks bright for volunteer projects outside the school and recycling within.