I always considered myself as someone who was environmentally conscious. I went vegetarian for a while, I tried to take shorter showers and I always recycled. As soon as I got to campus, I began to notice the overwhelming lack of interest in the environment on campus. Of course, there are small pockets of people who truly care about “going green” and taking care of the earth, but a majority of Wooster students have become complacent. Look in any recycling bin on campus and you will find three or four water bottles covered in garbage. Most of these items are clearly not recyclable, such as food waste. If you look in the trash can located next to the recycling bin, you will find cardboard boxes, recyclable plastics, paper and more items which should be recycled.
It seems to me that this isn’t a lack of education, but a lack of responsibility. Students know that food cannot be recycled but continue to throw their half-eaten lunches into the bins. This carelessness has led to the contamination of many of our loads of recycling that are taken by Waste Management. This means that the majority of what goes into the recycling bins ends up in a landfill. We, as a Wooster community, are failing to take care of our planet.
When discussing this issue with my peers, I’ve often heard the excuse that “They just throw everything into the dumpster anyway, so why should I care?” This explanation exposes the complete absence of concern regarding the environment. Students must begin to first hold themselves accountable so that they can hold their peers accountable as well. If you do not know what is recyclable, ask! If you want to learn more about how you can be involved on campus, attend a Greenhouse meeting! Take an hour out of your week or month to teach yourself how you can take care of the earth that houses you.
We are in a transitional period concerning recycling on Wooster’s campus. The newly developed Sustainability Committee is working to find a more efficient way to recycle and to create an education plan for students. I am of the mindset that for this education plan to be successful, students must be engaged and passionate about the issue. I am aware that students who truly do not care about recycling (and I’ve met many of them at Wooster) will not even read this article. But, if you have always wondered how you can better yourself and your campus, decide that today is the day that you make that change.
Recycle any plastics that have a bottle-neck top (like drinks in the C-Store), cardboard, paper, aluminum cans and food cartons. Make sure that if you’re recycling something that had liquid or food in it to rinse it out beforehand; lingering food will contaminate the entire load of recycling. Do not place the trash bag in the recycling bin. If you need to use a bag, dump the contents into the recycling dumpster and throw away the bag. However, you should ideally place your recycling straight into your individual bin and empty that directly into the dumpster.
2019 is the year we should decide to take care of our planet — if not for its intrinsic worth, then for our own survival. If not now, then when?
Grace O’Leary, a Contributing Writer for the Voice, can be reached for comment at GOLeary20@wooster.edu.