Unlike most students, I would be proud to say that my life is trashed. During my freshmen year, my parents and I decided that I would be able to handle my first job. With all of the potential employment options set in front of me, I had no idea which path to set foot on. Little did I know that choice was never an option; my journey had been predetermined for me. I was set to pick up where my older sister left off, the Jamestown Youth Litter and Conservation Team. As a freshman, I didn’t know a great deal about the job, otherwise known as the litter team, only that it was a two-year program for teenagers looking to practice their highway laboring, inmate style. Nevertheless, I handed in my application and after an interview and phone call I
…show more content…
It was about social change and education of environmental problems, not only on the small island of Jamestown but also around the world. Anyone in Jamestown would be able to gaze at our numerous signs raising environmental awareness stapled to telephone poles around the island.
Despite our name involving the word “litter”, one of our most common routines and my personal favorite practice was dumpster diving. Since it would be oxymoronic to pursue litter within a dumpster, we instead hunted for recyclables. In Rhode Island, the entire state depends on one sole landfill, which has an estimated 20 years until it reaches maximum capacity. In an effort to reduce waste that arrives at the landfill and hence extend its lifespan, we sought objects that had no reason for habitation in the landfill. Although our physical work was important, the educational component of the job reached much further. On rainy days when outdoor work was brought to a halt, we would resort to the nearby office TV to watch movies. However, these movies were none such that I had heard of; instead, they were documentaries about nothing other than trash. Although we viewed numerous films, every year, two in particular stood out to me: Trashed and Bag It.
It was about social change and education of environmental problems, not only on the small island of Jamestown but also around the world. Anyone in Jamestown would be able to gaze at our numerous signs raising environmental awareness stapled to telephone poles around the island.
Despite our name involving the word “litter”, one of our most common routines and my personal favorite practice was dumpster diving. Since it would be oxymoronic to pursue litter within a dumpster, we instead hunted for recyclables. In Rhode Island, the entire state depends on one sole landfill, which has an estimated 20 years until it reaches maximum capacity. In an effort to reduce waste that arrives at the landfill and hence extend its lifespan, we sought objects that had no reason for habitation in the landfill. Although our physical work was important, the educational component of the job reached much further. On rainy days when outdoor work was brought to a halt, we would resort to the nearby office TV to watch movies. However, these movies were none such that I had heard of; instead, they were documentaries about nothing other than trash. Although we viewed numerous films, every year, two in particular stood out to me: Trashed and Bag It.