Guest Blog: Student urges OU to get down and dirty
By Olivia Latkovic, Writer for Speakeasy
October 30, 2007 | 7:40 p.m.
In the spring of 2007, The Post published an article which quoted Leigh Ann Buzzard of Athens, “I don’t really know how we are supposed to recycle.” She explained that she and her roommates stopped trying to recycle because what they put on the curb was rarely picked up. It would not be unreasonable to conclude that this would probably be the reaction of many Ohio University students when questioned about their habits of recycling.
There are two very logical reasons as to why students do not participate in recycling as often as they should: one, they lack the education of the importance of recycling and therefore are careless in their recycling behaviors and two, they lack accessibility to proper recycling receptacles.
In a recent New York Times newspaper article Kate M. Krebs, executive director of the National Recycling Coalition, points out that even though college-age people grew up practicing recycling, their college years seem to show that their recycling habits are diminishing. This seems to be the story across college campuses. Perhaps this is the case because of the lack of parental discipline after leaving home? By regarding recycling as useless behavior the environment suffers and this is why Ohio University is striving to implement a routine recycling program.
Electronic waste, also known as e-waste, is another big dilemma we are just beginning to face, for technology and its advances are leading the way towards even more pollution. E-waste is considered all of the hardware, computers, appliances, and electronic equipment that we dispose of everyday. Of course there are companies who are taking the harmful waste from their consumers and properly disposing of it, but once again these companies cannot do their job if the consumers are too lazy to take advantage of these services. Many appliances such as computers, televisions, stereos, household appliances, and other electrical devices contain large amounts of mercury, lead, and other harmful chemicals that can pollute the environment. Just recently I was talking to a friend who had informed me that he knew of a man that ran a business that ships these appliances overseas where they eventually make their way into countries like China and India.
Kevin Bridgen, a member of the Greenpeace Science Unit, reiterated the harmful effects of e-waste, claiming that these chemicals have great impacts on the hormonal and neurological systems of humans. It just so happens that these hormonal and neurological systems are the ones of young adolescent children of China and India who pick apart the appliances to extract the substances their family needs to sell so they have an income.
Electronic waste control is an ongoing crisis. But there are numerous ways in which this harmful phenomenon is being prevented. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Congress gave private companies that donate computer technology, equipment, or software to schools a tax incentive by passing the 21st Century Classrooms Act for Private Technology Investment, which allows these companies to deduct their full purchase costs from their Adjusted Gross Income. Thanks to government compensations, businesses now have the opportunity to help those in need of the technology they lack. Technology advancements are an enormous concern because new products are being made quicker than we can get rid of the outdated products. As far as Ohio University’s recycling pattern of computers, office equipment, and furniture goes there are multiple options too.
According to Mark Shields, Ohio University’s College of Business Service Center Manager, there is always a surplus of office computers, equipment, and furniture that is in constant circulation throughout the University. He also points out that a few times a year there are auctions held at The Ridges where used or damaged electronics are auctioned off, a desirable alternative to shipping used electronics overseas. Shields states that the university does quite a nice job in regulating resources so unnecessary purchases aren’t being made.
Learning about the harmful effects of e-waste pollution, litter, and greenhouse gases really makes a person wonder if only there was something they could do to lessen the consequences of these realities. The Ohio Department of Natural Resources claims that disposing of solid waste in landfills can potentially pollute soil. Not only is the fact that soil is being polluted with toxins and hazardous waste a huge problem, but the fact that these landfills are taking up so much space that could otherwise be used for more resourceful purposes is a problem within itself.
Compost is a big issue that has us wondering where all this leftover food from dining hall trays is going. Luckily for us, Ohio University was granted $50,000 from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources’s Division of Recycling and Litter Prevention. This money will be put to good use as it is the basis for Ohio University’s project of purchasing a 6.15-kilowatt solar photovoltaic array expected to generate 35% of the electricity needed for a composting site. One might ask, “Where and how are we creating this composting site?”
Ohio University has some big plans up its sleeve. We are currently planning on installing the largest in-vessel composting system of any university or college in the country. This composting unit will be purchased by the end of this year, 2007, and plans are in the works to start construction in January of 2008. The project’s site was selected and will most likely be installed next to The Dairy Barn. This is a great achievement in Ohio University’s technological advancements and hopefully this will rank us as being the top college in recycling across the nation. As soon as we gain the equipment to further our success in keeping up with a healthy environment, the responsibility will lie in our hands to make good use of this system.
This in-vessel composting system will be capable of processing three tons of biodegradable waste each day. Dining halls and landscaping services will now have a proper place to deposit their waste. After two weeks of decomposing, this raw waste will turn into compost. This system saves a lot of time along with energy since solar panels are being used. Ed Newman, refuse and recycling manager, reasons that maybe down the road not only can we use the compost on campus, but maybe we can develop relationships with local growers to grow food that in time can come back to our Dining Services. This is what our university needs to do. We need to start making connections with the city around us and become a system as a whole. Sometimes I feel that Ohio University is a whole separate planet compared to the city of Athens around us. If only we could bring Ohio University closer to the community around us, then we could create a system which benefits the whole environment.
A strategy to achieve this goal could include the creation of a group willing to take on the challenges of bridging the gap between Ohio University and Athens City recycling. Within time we should be able to develop a cycle where we recycle our biodegradable waste, in this case in the form of a compost system, produce enriched soil for our campus and the farms around Athens, and hopefully get paid back in the form of fresh produce. This system has potential to save money for both the university and local growers of the area.
It was only a matter of time before campuses across the country began introducing programs that enhanced their student’s motivations for recycling. One program called Recyclemania, is designed to encourage active participation of college students to recycle. It originally began in 2001 as a friendly wager between the recycling directors at Ohio and Miami Universities. The campuses competed in a race to recycle which grants the students no physical prize but the bragging rights to see who has what it takes to make our environment a friendlier place to live. This year the contest has escalated to include 201 colleges and universities nationwide. Competition is a top priority in the world today across many genres whether it is sports, politics, academics, socioeconomic status, economics, etc. So why not turn a reasonably good thing, like recycling into a competition? Whether you believe it or not we are taking the competitive edge our society has developed and using it to our advantage.
While the Recyclemania program does not reward its winners personally, colleges are taking their part in the program by giving their students incentives to recycle. It’s not uncommon to hear colleges say that the best way to get students to recycle is to bring the bins to them. So over Christmas break one university placed 3,500 paper recycling bins in every dorm room. The students who were “caught green-handed”--participating in proper waste disposal-- were entered into a drawing for a green iPod. If Ohio University implemented a system as such, students living in dorms would be more encouraged to participate in the recycling program.
In 2003 colleges recycled a grand total of 1.7 million pounds of waste. Meanwhile four years later, in 2007, colleges nationwide managed to recycle a grand total of 41.3 million pounds. This research suggests that the word is spreading fast and people are finally catching on. Our generation is beginning a whole new revolution in protecting the environment.
As far as on-campus recycling goes, efforts have been made to educate residents about recycling. Once again Ed Newman has made valiant efforts to outreach to the community around us. He has implemented a system in which residence halls encourage their students to donate all non-perishable goods to a container in the main lobby which is then redistributed to organizations that help the needy. I’ve been at Ohio University for quite some time now and I can remember as a freshman cleaning our shelves of all imperishable food before winter break. Once again it’s the time and consideration we have to enforce within the student body on the positive aspects of recycling. With Athens being one of the poorest counties in the state of Ohio, they sure could use our helping hand in any way possible.
Our environment is crying out loud for our help. Without our efforts to lessen the amount of garbage waste and increase the amount of recycled materials, the ecosystem pays a toll. Habitats will be ruined, soil will be contaminated, greenhouse gases will conquer the atmosphere and the only people to blame will be the ones that continue poor recycling habits. This is why I strongly advise Ohio University students to become more active in their recycling habits. With the resources mentioned earlier, it is my hope that we take the responsibility into our own hands. To me it is evident that recycling is not as well known to students as it should be. This mere fact though goes hand in hand with every other program that has been started here at Ohio University, it takes time. And over this time, I am going to make valiant efforts to increase responsiveness towards our recycling programs.
It is my goal to make recycling bins more accessible in classroom buildings, dorm rooms, and other campus locations. I’m hoping to talk with environmental representatives here at Ohio University so I can lend my hand in making changes to our campus. Baker Center has already started a well planned biodegradable recycling system, which is awesome because in the near future we will hopefully see the impact of student efforts when we utilize the in-vessel compost system this upcoming year. I would hope other students would get more involved in environmental activities too. It’s finally time to get our hands dirty, literally.