Student’s Corner

With second semester approaching, there’s something that’s lurking around the corner other than the beginning of classes: Recyclemania.

Since I’ve been working so closely with so many green groups like Dining Team Green, Grassroots and Greenspace, Recyclemania feels like such a big event that everyone knows about, but unfortunately, it’s far from it.

First off, it’s not that Recyclemania is unsuccessful. The University of Rochester is a strong candidate in the competition and we fair well against other universities. However, I can’t help but wonder if Recyclemania could be more successful if more of the student body knows about it. We can use many words to nicely explain why Recyclemania isn’t more popular but quite frankly, it’s because no one really bothers to find out what it is. The most recognition Recyclemnia gets is a brief glance in the hallway from a promotional poster because we’re all privileged to be busy doing something else.

Looking at the history of recycling, we only see advancements when there is a true desperate need to do so. The Black Death resulting from poor garbage disposal inspired us to discover a more sustainable way to get rid of our trash. When there was shortage of materials during the revolutionary war and World War II, we were forced to scrap together all kinds of metals, reuse worn materials and paper, and salvage all that we can to save what we barely have. This shows that we’re capable of reducing our waste on a massive scale, but it also shows us that we only do so when all our options are exhausted.

On a college campus, students are in an unrealistic bubble that detaches them from real issues on hands. On a college campus, the primary concern is to get an A, not to prevent the world from overflowing with waste. Once the A is in sight, then worldly problems come into view. Because our priorities are not immediately jeopardized by the lack of recycling, there isn’t a strong incentive to participate in any sort of recycling programs.

This campus wide mentality is hard to change but I hope bringing this consideration into view can change someone, somewhere to realize that there are more important things than grades and finding a job.

As a member of Facilities Team Green, I extend my invitation to anyone reading this to participate in Recyclemania for your own sake and for the sake of our environment. It doesn’t take much effort to reuse, reduce, and recycle but it does mean a lot in the long run.

Written by Linda Shackles, Class of 2017