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The Messy Side of Science

Students in Doug Errett’s AP Environmental Science class spent the last two days collecting and carrying their garbage with them at all times – during the school day and at home – to assess the volume and mass of waste generated. They saved all trash, as well as any items that could potentially be recycled or reused. Materials included food waste, containers and packaging, letters, junk mail, newspapers, pens, shampoo bottles, even a 33mm film canister. The bags were then weighed, inventoried, and categorized as compostable, recyclable, or trash. Each individual category was also weighed to calculate the student’s annual total waste, and then added together to determine the waste for the entire class.

Said Mr. Errett, “The goals are twofold: to calculate annual waste throughput and landfill space used, and to assess the annual energy and cost savings associated with recycling. As a side benefit, we gain an awareness of our unconscious throw-away mentality, which could lead us to change some behaviors and make more environmentally sustainable choices.”

APES - Science Can Be Dirty
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Located in Washington D.C.,  St. Albans School is a private, all boys day and boarding school. For more than a century, St. Albans has offered a distinctive educational experience for young men in grades 4 through 12. While our students reach exceptional academic goals and exhibit first-rate athletic and artistic achievements, as an Episcopal school we place equal emphasis upon moral and spiritual education.