2008 Woodie Awards
Raising awareness on recycling
Ashley Hartman
Issue date: 11/15/06 Section: Forum
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"Every year, the United States generates approximately 230 million tons of 'trash'--about 4.6 pounds per person per day" (http:// www.learner.org/exhibits/garbage/solidwaste.html).
Up until the spring of 2006, the Mount was only adding to that number. Through the hard work of the Environmental club, supportive faculty members, and the diligence of Physical Plant workers in picking up recyclables, a school recycling program is now in existence.
Yet with all this hard work, it is disheartening to hear that the Mount still produces so much trash.
According to a recent SGA e-mail, so far this semester, "we have gone through over 70,000 to-go containers." These are styrofoam containers that take over a million years to decompose in landfills (http://www.cinergy .com/envirofun/). I understand that many students are busy and must eat on the go, but if you are sitting in the cafeteria eating with friends, using a to-go container is not necessary. The dining hall might also benefit by using to-go containers made of a more environmentally friendly materials.
"I think it's ridiculous that we have produced that much trash in containers alone and it saddens me to think that people do not realize how much they really do affect the environment," said junior treasurer of the Environmental club Jessica Compton.
The Mount currently recycles one ton of material each month. However, we should be able to do three times this amount. While, the Mount has made great progress in becoming a greener campus through the campus-recycling program, there is always more that could be done.
"I think, as students, many people are utilizing the recycling program but not enough. I walked through the Terrace and Sheridan one night and saw tons of recyclables in their trash cans," said sophomore Jessica Root.
In order to increase awareness of recycling around campus, the Environmental Club will soon be passing out recycling bags to residence hall rooms and apartments across campus. These are reusable bags in which students can store their recyclables. Once the bags are full, students can empty them in recycling bin locations in their residence halls. The Mount currently recycles the following items, and the Environmental club encourages students to save these items and recycle them:
Up until the spring of 2006, the Mount was only adding to that number. Through the hard work of the Environmental club, supportive faculty members, and the diligence of Physical Plant workers in picking up recyclables, a school recycling program is now in existence.
Yet with all this hard work, it is disheartening to hear that the Mount still produces so much trash.
According to a recent SGA e-mail, so far this semester, "we have gone through over 70,000 to-go containers." These are styrofoam containers that take over a million years to decompose in landfills (http://www.cinergy .com/envirofun/). I understand that many students are busy and must eat on the go, but if you are sitting in the cafeteria eating with friends, using a to-go container is not necessary. The dining hall might also benefit by using to-go containers made of a more environmentally friendly materials.
"I think it's ridiculous that we have produced that much trash in containers alone and it saddens me to think that people do not realize how much they really do affect the environment," said junior treasurer of the Environmental club Jessica Compton.
The Mount currently recycles one ton of material each month. However, we should be able to do three times this amount. While, the Mount has made great progress in becoming a greener campus through the campus-recycling program, there is always more that could be done.
"I think, as students, many people are utilizing the recycling program but not enough. I walked through the Terrace and Sheridan one night and saw tons of recyclables in their trash cans," said sophomore Jessica Root.
In order to increase awareness of recycling around campus, the Environmental Club will soon be passing out recycling bags to residence hall rooms and apartments across campus. These are reusable bags in which students can store their recyclables. Once the bags are full, students can empty them in recycling bin locations in their residence halls. The Mount currently recycles the following items, and the Environmental club encourages students to save these items and recycle them:
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