DEMOPOLIS &8212; Whether it&8217;s on the television or the shelves of the local grocery store, products all over the country purport to be &8220;going green.&8221; But long before the recent move toward eco-friendly cleansers and products, recycling was the No. 1 way people gave back to the environment. A partnership between Demopolis High School and a local recycling enthusiast is bringing that trend back to the area.

Broughton W. Rogers, a social studies teacher for Linden High School, and the National Science Honor Society at DHS are teaming up to collect paper products for recycling.

After working full time as a teacher and serving in the National Guard, Rogers has found time to make recycling a priority in his life. He ran his own recycling business for 10 years and is just now getting started again by working with the honor society.

This can-do attitude and desire to help the environment led Rogers to Cynthia Phillips, a science teacher at DHS and sponsor for the NSHS.

Another boon for getting students involved is teaching them a lesson about the environment.

The way the program works is each classroom has a box for any kind of recyclable paper product. Once a week NSHS members collect the boxes and proceed to sorting the materials into different kinds of products. These items are then collected in large receptacles that are later picked up by a paper company, a connection Rogers was able to ensure. The tons of collected paper are then distributed to sites all over the world, that later turn them into recycled paper towels, cardboard and other products.

Phillips and Rogers both said they planned to get the program started with paper products, but then move into recycling plastics at a later date.

According to the Environmental Protection Agency, the United States recycles 32.5 percent of its waste, a rate that has almost doubled during the past 15 years. Only one curbside recycling program existed in the United States just 20 years ago. By 2006, that number had grown to 8,660.

For more information, call Demopolis High School at 334-289-0294.