Our town has a trash problem. Masks litter the streets, household trash bins are stuffed with bubble wrap from deliveries, and single-use lunch containers are dished out to hundreds of students per day at PHS. Unfortunately, our school barely recycles. The garbage bins that line the halls are practically bursting with trash by the end of break each day.

But, as it turns out, Princeton isn’t alone. The world is in the middle of a global trash crisis. Waste centers are over-flowing with masks, aprons, gloves, face shields, and other medical waste. Single-use plastic production has been in-centivized during the pandemic by the increased demand for take-out, grocery deliveries, and more. One 2021 study by Benson et al. estimates that the world has been generating plastic waste at a rate of 1.6 million tonnes per day. Trash management centers, many of which closed due to COVID-19, have been completely overwhelmed. Conse-quently, improper methods of disposal have become more common. According to a September 2021 New York Times article by Mike Ives, incineration of both recyclable and non-recyclable waste has increased these past few months. Our current situation has made the urgency of sustainability undeniable. Despite that, many local governments and businesses have recently delayed or reversed policies promoting sustainability, according to a 2021 article by Chemical and Engineering News. Princeton must be different. Our town has to help the world move towards a cleaner future by changing our habits and making our voice heard. If Princeton, a privileged community with great resources, brain-power, and creativity, cannot find the motivation to change in the midst of a global trash crisis, we cannot expect the rest of the world to change, now or ever.

First, the PHS administration should reinvigorate its recycling campaign. Right now, even just fitting our trash into the overstuffed garbage bins is a struggle. The recycling bins, meanwhile, remain mostly empty. The administration should be actively encouraging students to recycle. Additionally, the school should switch from using plastic containers to using reusable or paper trays at lunch.

As residents of Princeton, we can do a lot more than just recycling to relieve the waste processing system and to contribute to sustainable progress. For one, we should be contacting local representatives to voice our concerns. Lawmakers need to know that we care, because even small voices can have a large impact. For example, when 120 towns and cities in New Jersey banned single-use plastic bags, the governor was convinced of the efficacy of this policy and signed a statewide ban, which will come into effect next year.

Making small changes in your daily life can also help. Some grocery stores, including McCaffrey’s and ShopRite, accept shopping bags that can’t go in your normal recycling bin at their store recycling center. People can collect plastic shopping bags at home and bring them to one of these locations to be reused. You can order less takeout and cook food more often, but if you have to order takeout, you can reuse containers to store leftovers and return unused plastic utensils included in the packaging. No act is too insignificant or too small — the only commitment that is required of us is to take action