While Amador students returned from lockdown this year to find the campus in a refreshed state, the overabundance of trash being left at lunch remains an ongoing issue. 

“I am disappointed with the trash situation after lunch. It is really sad to see all the tables covered with food waste. And our poor janitors — they have to clean it all up when we can just clean it up ourselves,” said AV leadership student Marc Altherr (‘22).

When lunch ends, many Amador Valley students simply leave their trash behind and it takes about twenty to thirty minutes every day for custodians to clean the mess after the bell rings.

“It does not normally take too long to clean up, but especially recently, picking up off tables takes extra time. Containers with milk in them are the biggest problem for us,” said one campus custodian.

To combat the trash problem and protect the campus, leadership students are also working with clubs and planning new environmentally-based activities like the beautification campaign.

“We are trying to encourage everyone to pick up trash. I was actually a part of the beatification process – we planted a bunch of native plants and flowers as well as the planter boxes to try to make things look nice and help out in any way we can,” said Altherr. 

To overcome the trash issue, students can make sure that their lunch table is clean and that their trash has been thrown away in one of the numerous trash cans around campus. 

“I think that the number one way to improve the trash problem is for students to hold peers accountable. I do not think that any student has bad intentions – so, the more that students can help to remind their peers, the better it is for our campus and everyone at Amador as well,” said Amador principal Joshua Butterfield.

Additionally, the school administration team has been trying to provide every student with an ideal academic environment by, most recently, installing the new shade structure, repainting the campus, and more. 

“All of our staff at the district office have been working incredibly hard to make Amador a better place. For example, we’ve relandscaped and resurfaced all of our backfields. So, I really think that it’s important that, as a student body, we also do our part to make the campus clean and appealing for everybody,” said Butterfield.