School club looks to shrink GHHS' eco-footprint

Students at Grand Haven High School got a sweet chance Friday afternoon to support classmates who are trying to shrink the school's environmental footprint. Members of the G.R.E.E.N. club held a sundae bar in the cafeteria during lunch, selling ice cream for $1 per scoop. Money from the sundae bar will go toward the club's current goal of installing six water bottle filling stations throughout the school, said Aaron Portenga, the club's faculty advisor.

Jordan Travis

Apr 23, 2011

One station has already been installed at a cost of $1,800, and another will be installed on the second level, thanks to funding from JSJ Corporation, Portenga said.

One feature of the water fillers is a digital display that counts how many plastic bottles the filler has diverted from landfills.

“We’ve had this in here for three weeks, and it’s already saved 3,319 plastic bottles,” Portenga said of the bottle filler.

The G.R.E.E.N. club, which stands for global responsibility for the Earth’s environment now, is responsible for the school’s recycling program, Portenga said. Each week, the club’s 12 members go around the classrooms and collect the plastic and paper products.

See today's print edition of the Grand Haven Tribune for the full story