Slash The Trash is back again! For the past few years Green Team has included HHS Teams and clubs to join and help out.

For those who do not know what Slash the Trash is, it is when some HHS students and teams go through all the trash during lunch and separate the trash from organic products; orange and banana peels, apple cores, etc and separate recyclable objects; plastic bottles, paper bags, etc. The organic material are then turned into compost that is used to help grow the school’s garden. The garden has been very successful, and some of its products are even sold at the farmer’s market.

This year’s Green Team has increased the amount of recycling because of an annual competition the Green Team and sports teams takes part in. The competition is based on the amount of students helping in recycling and composting. Points are taken away each time a recycled item is found in the trash. The winner is the team with the least amount of points deducted. They also win a lunch donated from Crow Point Pizzeria.

When asked about HHS composting/recycling and Slash the Trash, freshman student and Green Team member Abbigale Foley replied, “I think HHS has been doing a great job staying green because the Green Team has been doing so many activities to stay green. For example: cleaning up after the football games so our stadium stays clean. We have also just started Slash the Trash to improve composting in out school. The teachers have been doing a great job keeping the balance between paper use and electronic use which helps preserve trees.”

The former and now-graduated Green Team president Maxwell Giarrusso shared his perspective on the effect of Slash the Trash on Hingham High school. He said, “I believe Slash the Trash has been one of the Green Team’s most creative and successful initiatives. It uniquely uses competition as a way to positively reinforce a sustainability oriented community. The program has brought HHS students from different backgrounds together around a common good, positively contradicting Hardin’s Tragedy of the Commons.”