High school students help open climate justice lab in Columbus

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — A local organization and a group of high school students are stepping up to help the environment. Saturday, MY Project USA opened a climate justice lab aimed at supporting recycling and more across Columbus. 

Executive Director Zerqa Abid shared that what started as a project for several high school students became a mission focused on repurposing, recycling and community action for the future.   

“Working with the young people on this campaign, I saw the potential, and I saw the leadership and how out of the box they think and how resourceful they are,” Abid said. “I know many young people, a lot of our teenagers are, and they are passionate.” 

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A group of students from New Albany High School spent the year and over 2,000 hours transforming a warehouse into a thrift store. The goal is to offset unnecessary waste or trash that would otherwise go into the Franklin County landfill from donated items.   

“The landfills in Columbus in the next 30 to like 40 years, they’re going to be completely full,” said Kian Haq, New Albany senior. “That means zero trash can be placed anywhere in Columbus. And it has to be shipped to another state, to another county.” 

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Organizers hope to educate the public on how to implement recycling in their lives. And that this new lab acts as a hub for these students to continue showing productivity and creative avenues on the issue. 

”MY Project USA has always been focused on fostering and empowering young leaders into different fields,” Abid said. “So, climate justice is for sure is one of the main area that we believe that for these young people this is their project.” 

If you would like to help or donate to this effort, click this link.

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