subject line: "Something trashy is going on."
Wouldn’t you open it?
When they did, it was a message from ECO, Moravian’s Environmental Coalition, inviting everyone to a waste audit. “Dear Moravian,” the email said, “we think it's time to sort things out."
And that’s exactly what we did. Members of the club donned Tyvek suits, googles, and gloves, blasted good music, and got to work sorting out the trash collected in one day in one freshman dorm. (Right on the busy patio in front of the HUB--Haupert Union Building). We called it Trash On the Patio.
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| ECO members getting trashy |
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| Andrew Benson, class of 2014 and Diana Feldmann, ECO secretary class of 2012 |
The club borrowed scales from the biology department to take careful measurements. Here’s what we found:
39% was actually trash
26% was recyclable
commingled plastic, glass, and aluminum
commingled plastic, glass, and aluminum
10% was recyclable mixed paper
25% was compostable
So with the waste system we have at Moravian, 36% could have been recycled.
If Moravian had a compost system, 61% of what was thrown out could have avoided the landfill.
So ECO got some numbers on how well Moravian recycles. What now?
Now the club wants to advertise the results and reach out to other students on the issue, then hold another waste audit to see how effective we were in our outreach.
As is, there are improvements you can see allover campus. Some are tall and fluted, others short and plastic, but they’re all beautiful blue recycling bins.
The new bins can be attributed to some hard work and a great deal of cooperation between Moravian’s main players.
ECO and the Sustainability Committee, a faculty/administrator/student task force championed by Dr. Frank Kuserk, joined forces to raise green issues.
At one point, when we were fighting for outdoor recycling bins, we already had the money from a generous donation by committee member and alumnus Jonathan Soden’s family.
The real struggle was securing the funds and manpower to take on the extra responsibility of recycling. But once Moravian facilities and the green team came to agreement, those beautiful bins began popping up.
Now why, when two bins are placed next to each other and labeled up and down, won’t students put the right thing in the right bin?
Sounds like a mystery ECO should solve!
This is such a good idea!! Have you approached Moravian about a compost program? I mean, there is that giant compost plant at the bottom of the road...
ReplyDeleteMy roommate is a recycling advocate. She’s always making sure I recycle the whole coffee cup and insisting on using a filter instead of bottled water. And after reading this, I realize how important the little things are!
ReplyDeleteThe recycling bins around campus make it a lot easier to be green. I just wish people took more advantage of them.
I'm a big advocate for recycling as well and it's crazy how easy it is to recycle and yet how so few people do it. Hopefully, this post will shed some light on how simple and important recycling is, especially since Moravian has new recycling bins all over campus. Also, like Kasara said, maybe you should talk to Moravian about having a compost. It would be another great way for Moravian to go green.
ReplyDelete