With the Missouri Girls State delegates preparing for their second half of an extremely busy week, a big question circling amongst them is, “Where are all of the trash cans?” While Lindenwood University has provided the members with sublime space, dorms, and the necessary materials to live like college students, trash cans, especially inside of bathrooms and dorm rooms, is important for everybody living there this week. With sanitation directors being appointed in all cities, the delegates have thought outside of the box to dispose of their trash in their dorms. Numerous delegates have shared their thoughts over the current sanitation in their dorms.
Olivia Mirly, from Covington City said, “The rooms are pretty clean for the most part, but there were some sticky spots on the floor that were there when we got here, but it wasn’t too bad. There are also zero trash cans in our city, so we have had to find our own bags to put our trash in.”
Another Price County citizen had similar answers. Lewis City resident, Clara Viau, said, “The dorm facilities aren’t dirty, but there’s just not a lot of space for us to dispose of our waste.” When asked about developing a packing list for next year’s delegates, she replied, “I would put more emphasis on bringing hand towels, bath towels, soap, and trash bags. I would also suggest the staff to have extras just in case someone forgets.”
While some cities had no trash cans, others did manage to find one for themselves. Shaelynn Anglin, a citizen of Adreon City, said, “Our dorms are fairly clean, but it’s hard to use flimsy plastic bags. We do have a large trash can in the main area, but still no trash bags. We also can’t get to it after lights out.”
Despite every city finding themselves in a trash can shortage, some delegates found ways to keep their dorms clean. “We had no trash cans, but we did find trash bags,” Cronin City citizen, Madeline Souder, shared. “Our sanitation director has been doing great with collecting trash bags from our rooms to take to the dumpster.”
This begs the question: ”Will there ever be any trash cans for the dorms?” Maybe this is another wonderful opportunity for delegates to think creatively and make their own trash cans, just as some cities already have. Even so, nothing seems to dampen the spirits of these ecstatic delegates.