Acorn

It always motivates me and makes me feel good about the world when I hear about great things being accomplished by college students. That?s why my little heart skipped a beat when I heard about Recyclemania.

You may be thinking, ?Well, I already recycle.? At least I hope a lot of people reading this will be thinking that. I hope your next thought will be, ?What else can I be doing?? and maybe even being able to form a list of other things you do to reduce your trash output.

One of the biggest reasons that things don?t get recycled on this campus is that people contaminate recycling bins with trash and throw recyclable things in the trash can. Any of you who stopped by our table at the U.C. on Wednesday were able to see that first hand. This is easy enough to change if people took a moment to think about what they are doing when they throw something out. We would dramatically reduce our contribution to landfills and increase our recycling if we all become more vigilant about where we throw our trash.

If recycling already comes like second nature to you, there are so many more ways you can help out. Think about the things you purchase this week, and the things you throw away. Which things have more packaging than they really need? Which could you reuse in a different way even before recycling? Which items are made using non-recyclable parts or packaging, and what are possible substitutes?

The possibilities for positive change are endless. Groups of friends who take daily trips to Java City can remind each other to bring reusable mugs and remember to bring canvas bags or bookbags when shopping at the bookstore or elsewhere. We could be much more successful in our recycling and waste reducing efforts if those involved in student organizations and committees on campus could make sure that the waste generated by any event or program on campus is minimized, and that ecological factors are considered before any action is taken.

Organizations can request ceramic dishes, glasses and silverware rather than plastic forks and paper plates and cups for their next catered event. Other groups can print posters advertising upcoming events on reused paper, or make sturdy signs that can be reused every year. My hope for RecycleMania is that our campus comes together and recognizes that there isn?t some magical garbage fairy who picks up after us, picks our recycling out of the trash bin, and makes our garbage magically disappear without any impact on the world. The administration and staff are behind us, but it?s up to the students to win this competition. This is the first year any school from New Jersey has entered the competition, so it?s a great time to show the rest of the country that we?re not all about being the No. 1 polluted state.

RecycleMania is somewhat of a revolution against waste. More and more people in the world are adopting a consumption-fueled, wasteful view of the Earth?s resources that is simply not sustainable. That is to say, if everyone in the world lived like us, it would take a whole lot of Earths to keep us going.

Last time I checked, we only had one. I don?t believe this means we need to feel guilty and give up things that bring us pleasure, but maybe it means that we need to re-evaluate our lifestyles and actions and think about the direction things are going, and think about the future beyond our years at Drew, beyond our lifetimes, beyond our great-great-grandchildren?s lifetimes.

What do we want that future to look like? How can we aid in this vision for the future? Certainly recycling and reducing waste are certainly not the only issues, but our efforts this semester during RecycleMania can change the way Drew and other universities run their recycling programs. The actions that each one of us takes this semester in terms of recycling should also set the tone for the way we consider the impact of larger choices we make in life.

I encourage anyone with ideas or further questions to e-mail me at lcelebre@drew.edu, visit the RecycleMania website at www.recyclemaniacs.org, or visit our DEAL message board at https://community.drew.edu/forumdisplay.php?f=42. Please let me know, ask your RA or call Facilities if your building is in need of more recycling bins, and if you?re not sure, ask whether or not something can be recycled.

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