Trash build up has become a problem on campus, causing some furry friends to make an appearance. Students taking advantage of new trash receptacles throughout campus haven’t been proven as beneficial as planned.
The litter problems around campus have some students noticing animal problems. “We track needs for pest control through work orders, I’m in daily communication through residence life so I haven’t heard of anything regarding raccoons or litter,” Vice President of Campus Operations Joseph Snowden said. “They can reach out and feel perfectly open to send me an email or call me directly and I can address it.”
In 2014, approximately 258 million tons of waste were generated around the world, and 89 million tons were composted. This generates a 34.6% recycling rate worldwide, a 0.3% increase from 2013, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. Recycling programs made their debut at SHC in the spring of 2016, with the addition of several colored bins outside of residence halls. These bins are emptied by housekeeping, and they are all sorted to be sure everything is in the correct category.
Greenkeepers, an organization on campus dedicated to healthy living, implemented this program and has worked towards making several similar changes.
“We got the caf to be a green space and green building, so they recycle all of their resources and stuff. However, now they have plastic cups. The plastic cups can’t be recycled, we can only recycle ones and twos in Mobile, and those are fives. The lady that sorts it charges us, since these cups are considered trash it is getting really expensive,” Greenkeepers president Madeline Johnson said.
The organization is involved in coastal and campus clean-ups. This semester, they also did a cigarette butt clean up. “We did a cigarette butt cleanup on campus and we cleaned up 5 huge garbage bags full of butts at the beginning of the semester, they are actually really harmful for the soil,” Johnson said.
National Recycling Day is Nov. 15, and Greenkeepers are gearing up to educated students about it. The organization will be serving color-coded cupcakes in the back of the cafeteria in an effort to educate students on what is recyclable and what each color represents. “The problem with that is you can bring a horse to water but you can’t make it drink. So you can put the recycling programs in place, we can’t make the students recycle,” Johnson said.
Snowden has expressed that all concerns regarding litter on campus are taken very seriously. “I feel strongly that as a community, we all have a shared responsibility in keeping our "home" clean and free of litter. I encourage everyone to take an active role in preventing litter and removing it,” Snowden said.
For more information on healthy living and recycling or any concerns regarding campus cleanup, contact Greenkeepers at greenkeepers@shc.edu and Joseph Snowden at jsnowden@shc.edu.