Though I would not consider myself an environmentalist tree-hugger, I would certainly say that I do care about the environment. I am no fanatic vegetarian, save-the-whales kind of gal, but I do try to do my part. Lately, I have been very disappointed in others’ lack of conservation and, more specifically, inability to recycle.
One thing this school needs right now is a superb recycling program. What percentage of MSU’s trash consists of aluminum cans, plastic bottles, newspapers or other recyclable materials? I am willing to bet that it is more than 50 percent. Think about how much we could reduce our garbage production if people would recycle! The problem is that even if students want to recycle, there is no easy or effective way to do it. Until the end of last year, I had to save all my bottles and old copies of The Reflector and take them home on the weekends – certainly not the height of convenience. It was a pain to pile up items in my room and then tote them home just to recycle. I learned late last year there is a recycling center in Giles Hall, but it is small and unannounced, which means hardly anyone besides architecture students know about it.
The recycling club, of which I am a member, has made many gallant efforts over the course of the last school year, setting up bins in all the residence halls and organizing collections. We now hope to secure a permanent bin for the campus that the Starkville Recycling Center will pick up once a week. This move will be costly and require some fundraising, but I think it will greatly increase the productivity of the campus.
I know some students have a general contempt for recycling and conserving, and nothing I or anyone else, for that matter, say will change their habits or attitudes. People holding this mindset do not necessarily consider the consequences of our wastefulness, and often overlook the enormous impact our decisions about waste management have.
Trash disposal is an expensive proposition. Think about all the energy and sheer manpower involved in digging and maintaining landfills and incinerating garbage, which is sometimes done with plasma lasers. Imagine how much of the state and national budget is devoted solely to garbage (note: not intended to be a metaphorical statement). Now, I admit recycling is oftentimes just as costly as simple garbage disposal, but there are certain benefits inherent in recycling that will never be available with the traditional method of sweeping our garbage under the rug. What do we get out of throwing things away? One word: trash. To all those people who carelessly throw away their morning Dr. Pepper bottles without a second thought, I very passionnately say, “Care! This is your earth too; take responsibility for it.” What we do now affects not only our lives, but also every generation that follows.
The whole faculty seems to have a general lack of recycling ability. Every day I see teachers throw away scrap paper, old handouts, extra copies, etc. How much room is that taking up in a landfill? How many trees would it save to recycle all of that paper instead?
There is among students at least some desire to begin taking steps in the green direction. I know there are many students who cringe every time they throw out a coke bottle or old papers, but what alternative do they have? A dorm room smelling of old food and stacked high with yellowing newspapers? They can tote their recyclables down to Giles once a week or so but only if they know it exists.
And what about the school buildings? There are no bins in any of the halls where people have classes, except for Giles. This means, of course, students would rather throw things away than have to hold on to them for several hours before disposing of them in properly marked bins. If MSU had a decent recycling program, students would be able to confidently dispose of their recyclable goods with the added benefit of knowing they have done at least a small part to help combat our garbage addiction.
Did you know that if one family recycled its newspapers for a year, it would save about half a tree’s worth of paper, according to an estimate by Bruce G. Marcot of the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forrest Service? Sure, that doesn’t seem like much, but if applied on State’s campus, that statistic would be almost 5,000 trees. And that’s if less than a third of the students recycle. There is no telling how much we could save if we recycled our plastic bottles and cans as well.
If MSU recycled, this campus would be playing an active, positive role in taking care of our Earth. A campus where recycling is emphasized would greatly change our garbage outlook and set a positive example to the rest of the country. MSU would be teaching students to be good stewards as well as cutting down on our total trash output. One person can make a difference, even if it alone isn’t enormous. One campus, however, is a different story.
Hannah Kaase is a sophomore majoring in animal and dairy science. She can be contacted at [email protected].