At first glance, Quartz Hill High School seems like a high school with a relatively clean campus. However, a quick tour around the school makes it evident that trash is an issue faced daily.

There are numerous trash cans and recycling bins scattered throughout the campus, a quick and convenient visit to discard unwanted items into their proper receptacles. Yet, many students continue to litter. In fact, much litter is found around trash cans, where students often leave wrappers or apple cores after failing to shoot their trash into the bins.

Even when trash is properly discarded, the inconsistencies of emptying the bins can cause substantial littering issues. Sometimes trash cans overflow and the wind disperses the waste all throughout campus, piling up in corners and hallways.

The grounds of the school are also a testament to the littering problems faced by past generations. The gum-covered cement shows the history of students who disposed of their gum on the ground they walk on. Though the black-dotted ground is often ignored by students, those who do take notice cannot help but be disgusted by the vast amount of gum decorating the cement. So much has piled on, in fact, that there is no reasonable way to further clean it with a machine. The only solutions would be to darken the cement or to put entirely new cement on. These remedies, however, are reaching at best, considering the amount of money the methods would cost. With new security measures to be implemented, it is unlikely the school will prioritize investing money on making the ground a clean slate.

Another imprint of history on the cement is the chalk art contest from the last school year in front of the school’s library. While it may be interesting for freshmen who have never seen it before, deducing the faded drawings pose obvious difficulties.

Junior Semma Hadaya, though, believes, “the school is overall pretty clean.” The majority of the time, there is relatively low trash littered. Even after lunch, the school stays comparatively clean. When asked about what students could do to help maintain the cleanliness of Quartz Hill High School, she proposed, “… students could participate in a campus clean-up like last year to make it a cleaner environment.” A campus-clean up would simultaneously help clean the school and bring students together for one cause, both of which are beneficial.

Overall, Quartz Hill High School is considerably clean, especially compared to many others. This can be attributed to the copious amount of trash cans and recycling bins throughout the whole school. However, QHHS is far from squeaky clean. Being more mindful of our actions and having more consideration for our environment will dramatically decrease the amount of trash found in places they do not belong. Additionally, helping out by throwing away a piece of trash or two will begin to add up, and may even lead to a campus with virtually no trash around