Just pitching in
Boy Scout initiates a first-of-its-kind recycling program at Royal
By Eliav Appelbaum eliav@theacorn.com

WENDY PIERRO/Acorn Newspapers MAKING A CHANGE- Royal High School senior Hayden Yeany, 16, recently started a recycling program on campus. Hayden, who is currently a Life Scout working to become an Eagle Scout, launched the program this week as part of his scout service project and put 20 cans for recycled goods throughout the school's campus.

Hayden Yeany takes pride in his school.

Unhappy to see trash littering the campus on a daily basis, the Royal High School junior decided to to something about it.

As part of his effort to earn the rank of Eagle Scout, Yeany started Royal's first large-scale recycling program on Monday, purchasing and placing 20 recycling cans throughout the school.

And it hasn't taken long to see the difference they're making..

"There are a lot fewer sea gulls- which is a great thing," said Yeany, who's a member of the Highlanders' cross country and track and field teams. "During lunchtime, they would swarm the skies and drop bird poop everywhere and students would run for cover."

Principal Dan Houghton agreed that the campus is becoming cleaner.

"I think it's awesome," the principal said. "It just started Monday, three days ago, and we can already see a difference."

Although some teachers have brought recycling bins into their classrooms for years, there's never been a recycling program of this magnitude in the school's history, Houghton said.

"We've been trying to get it established on campus for quite a while," Houghton said. "It's nice to see a student take the initiative and realize something needed to be done. Hayden put time, work effort into making it a reality."

Yeany, who will turn 17 later this month, is a member of Boy Scout Troop 642 Wolf Patrol in Simi Valley.

Only 3 or 4 percent of Boy Scouts earn the rank of Eagle Scout, according to Rich Rasmussen, Yeany's scoutmaster. Rasmussen said he thinks Yeany is deserving of the rank.

"On our very first Scout outing, he was cleaning up the campsite before anyone ever asked him to," Rasmussen said.

"When it came time for him to pick his Eagle Scout project, it didn't surprise me he wanted to do a recycling program. He admitted that the campus had a lot of trash and that really bothered him. He thought he could really do a service for his school," he continued.

Yeany, who joined the Boy Scouts at age 12, hopes to keep the project going long after he graduates. The junior said he'll try to recruit teachers and younger students to take over the reins.

All the money made from the project- after Yeany collects the bins and drops them off at a recycling treatment center in Burbank- goes back to the students through the Associated Student Body.

Yeany hopes to add more bins more as the need for them grows.

The Royal student, who enjoys playing the piano and drawing and would like to study animation or video-game design in college, said the project had one simple objective.

"I simply wanted to make it a cleaner campus; that's the main motivation," he said.