I think it is interesting people think that because campus looks bad during an event like Homecoming means a bad reflection on us and the university’s stakeholders. It should be a time to understand that this trash, scattered around like the fallen inebriated person, is affecting the world in a way that may never be solved. This is a common concept since garbage goes into a bin and is then thought of as “taken care of” or “out of sight, out of mind.”
When there is alcohol in any equation, especially dealing with ethical environmental decisions, the problem is not with awareness. The chances people will recycle or not don’t really matter because most of the “trash” at the tailgate, off-campus apartments or community is thrown into the waste receptacle that gets tossed into a bigger heap that very few people know about or see.
Recycling does solve some issues but it is not the most important. It is listed as “REDUCE, reuse and recycle” for a reason. The first thing people need to do is reduce their use of material. But again, the liquor bottle or box of wine goes dry so quickly, one can only guess what happens next. People buy more. After a while, the list gets mixed up. “REFILL, release and run before the cops come” ends up being the new list.
Let us all have a reunion of the minds and discuss the real issues that plague the world and not just ourselves and how others perceive us.
