RECYCLING - EASIER THAN YOU THINK








College students love their canned drinks. Whether it is soda, beer, an energy drink, students cannot seem to get enough of the aluminum cans that can make even the most boring parties fun. But what about when the party is over and it's time to clean up? The obvious choice for the mess is the single trash can that occupies each dorm room. This is where, not surprisingly, most of the trash gets thrown. Although most students know that recyclying is the better option for things such as aluminum cans, it is far too much work to go allllll the way down the hall to the only recycling can near them. This leaves them with one option - throw every single bud light can into the trash.
Now, according to Elon's sustainability website, it takes 95% less energy to make a can out of recycled aluminum and produces 95% less greenhouse gas. In other words, it is a heck of a lot more environmentally friendly to recycle your empty cans. Pretty much every student in college knows this fact. But hardly anybody does it. Why? Because it is so much more convenient to throw things away when there is a trash can five feet away from you.
What I have decided to do for the remainder of the year is to put a recycling bin in my room right next to our trash can. As part of this project, we are supposed to find other ways of reusing things instead of buying stuff we don't really need. Recycling is a great way to get started with that goal becuase it is an easy thing to do when you have the necessary equipment. Plus, it is so much better for the environment than most people know. Of course, if only I do it without letting other people know about this great idea I had, it would only help a small percentage compared to if everybody participated. My idea for Elon is this: in addition to putting trash cans in every room, they should have a recycling bin in each one as well. This would cost a little more but the rewards would be so much more beneficial.
I don't think that college students don't recycle because they don't want to. They just choose to do the more convenient thing, which is completely understandable. So if they had an equal choice between recycling a can and throwing it away, i think that the amount of recycled material would increase significantly. It is one small change that would make a huge difference.