Belouga’s Global Student Council is back for it’s second cohort during the 2017-18 school year. The Student Council is made up of a group student leaders from around the world that have excelled in global education and collaboration. Each month, these students write blog posts covering a range of topics related to global education. It is a great way to receive feedback and give a voice to the Belouga experience from a student’s point of view. We will be sharing these posts and hope you feel inspired to join in with questions and conversation!
This month’s topic is “Lessons for Positive Change.” Student Council members were tasked with identifying one thing that your own respected community and country can learn from another country around the world to improve the lives of their local citizens? Additionally, what is one thing other communities and countries can learn from their country? What problem would it solve? How would this help them?
Lessons for Positive Change: Recycling Made Easy
by Christian, age 14 , from the United States
One thing that the United States of America can learn from around the world is a efficient way to recycle. I think that if we would research more about how Norway recycles their trash then it would produce less trash in the states. In Norway, they have machines that you bring your recycling to and insert it into the machine. It then counts up the items and rewards you with money for doing something good in the world. I find that this is a good way to increase recycling because Norway has the most efficient recycling plant on earth. In fact, the United States produces 25 percent of waste on the earth. Norway has a 99 percent recycling rate, compared to the United States 34 percent recycling rate.
The United States and Norway recycle by totally different ways. The United States recycles by citizens taking their trash in bags or containers to the recycling center where you have to sort out your types of materials you have and do not get any money in return. On the other hand, Norway has rectangular machines where they insert their recyclables and it sorts it and when they are finished it gives them money for recycling. I think that if we located recycling machines in the grocery stores in the United States more people would recycle. This would make it more convenient and efficient; because consumers would not have to go out of their way to recycle and get something in exchange for their recycling. In my opinion I feel that everyone around the world could see how the United States is by not recycling and contrast it with Norway. I think that if the United States would follow Norway’s lead it would show other countries that recycling is important.
I think that one thing other countries could learn from the United States of America is to accept the wide variety of ethnic cultures. The USA is known as the melting pot. The U.S. has and will continue to welcome the world’s different cultures from around the world. It is one of the only countries that allow any culture into its country as a citizen. I feel if other countries would allow different cultures of people then they would understand them more and be more accepting of their differences and become a better country overall.