By Robin Bruno
Paper towel overflow is something that not many students consider as anything significant. But it is!
For starters, it’s expensive. Benicia High school usually buys 7 to 9 cases per month, and each case costs $65, as confirmed by BHS Vice Principal Jacob Smith. Many schools vary when it comes to ordering more utilities, often depending on the size of the school, students and staff, vandalism, and even brunch and lunch. Likewise, paper towel usage usually goes up when the school has big events.
For our school, the daytime custodian, María Ramos Marroquín stated, “we order paper towels and toilet paper twice a month.” At that rate, Benicia High School is roughly going through 4 cases, or 36 rolls every two weeks. In general, students only need 2 sheets per visit, when in reality, they are using more like 4-5 sheets, resulting in quite a bit of waste.
Aside from the cost, the bathrooms are often littered with these paper towels. Given that cans are emptied everyday, this is not the fault of the custodians, especially since there are trash cans located inside the bathrooms, as well as all around campus. Though the cans in the restrooms look a bit on the smaller side, they are quickly filled nonetheless due to students using more paper towels than they need. This causes overflow from the trash cans, which leads to more clean-up for our custodians.
When asked if the state of the bathrooms made them less likely to use them, students had much to say.
“Yes, because it is gross.” Elisabella Magana (10) said. This sentiment was echoed by her classmate, Ava Adams (10), who stated the lazily discarded paper towels, “Made me very disgusted, because it feels like there’s germs everywhere.”
Students can help solve this problem by using fewer paper towels, and making more of an effort to throw them into the trash cans, so they are properly disposed of. One to two sheets are sufficient when drying one’s hands. Reducing the amount used can help the school in the long run by saving money for other necessities, as well as greatly reducing the workload for our lovely and hardworking custodians.
beniciapaw.com 