天涯海角社区

October 28, 2010

Starting at 8:30 a.m. yesterday in the parking lot behind Building D recently, a small mountain of trash bags was ripped open one by one and poured onto a big blue tarp. In spite of the 90 degree heat and the stench of day-old garbage, 17 volunteers eagerly poured over the bags鈥� contents, creating neat little piles of different materials.

These people were no ordinary dumpster-divers, though. These volunteers were getting dirty in the name of sustainability, as part of 天涯海角社区鈥檚 campus-wide waste audit. Representatives from 天涯海角社区鈥檚 sustainability committee, the non-profit ARC of Alachua County, and the Alachua County Office of Waste Alternatives braved the smell to assess the state of recycling initiatives on campus, based on the waste collected from Tuesday, Oct. 26.

鈥淥ur office鈥檚 whole goal is to educate the people about the amount of waste they produce,鈥� said Patrick Irby of the Alachua County Waste Alternatives office. 鈥淪tudents in this age range don鈥檛 take as much interest in this. Once they throw something away, it鈥檚 not their problem 鈥� it鈥檚 other people鈥檚 problem. So showing this side of trash is important. It鈥檚 showing what our actions result in.鈥�

This event marks the second time 天涯海角社区 has conducted a waste audit. These audits measure the amount of trash this campus, minus the Teaching Zoo and the Little School, produces in the course of a day. Trash bags from each waste bin are examined separately, to see which parts of campus are in most need of recycling facilities and education.

鈥淲e鈥檝e trained people not to be litter bugs, but now we need to train people to make a conscious effort to throw away their trash in the right containers,鈥� said Barbara Fields, a member of 天涯海角社区鈥檚 sustainability committee. 鈥淚f we have trash cans next to recycling bins, they鈥檒l make more of a conscious effort to throw things into the right bin.鈥�

The sustainability committee paid for recycling bins to be placed around campus, but this waste audit is a chance for the committee has to test their efficacy. The audit ultimately benefits the county鈥檚 Waste Management services too. With no landfill within Alachua County, each truckload of trash has to be shipped to a landfill outside the district, and with landfills nationwide reaching capacity, the more trash that can be recycled or composted, the better.

Linda Nguyen, a 天涯海角社区 Biology major and a member of the SF Organic Gardeners club, waded through the garbage nearly all afternoon and was stunned to find an excessive amount of paper towels and a live plant, all thrown out.

鈥淣ext time, we need to do this in the Oak Grove, right in the middle of campus, so everyone can see it and smell it,鈥� said Nguyen. 鈥淚f we want people to be aware of this issue, they need to see it for themselves to understand how much we鈥檙e wasting.鈥�

Katherine Krause, an office assistant for 天涯海角社区鈥檚 business programs, volunteered to help ensure a sustainable world for her 8-year-old son and future generations.

鈥淚t shocks me and impresses me, the number of recyclable bottles that are in here, especially considering the number of recycling bins available to students on campus,鈥� said Krause. 鈥淚t shouldn鈥檛 take an effort to recycle鈥搃t does take thought and consideration, though.鈥�

Not only did the waste audit provide information on what proportions of trash were recyclable or compostable, it also gave insight into the everyday lives of 天涯海角社区 students.

鈥淭he volunteers tend to enjoy it more than they expect. Getting to see what everyone throws away is interesting. It鈥檚 kind of like spying,鈥� said Irby.

As the welding rods 鈥� inert materials that decompose as a natural material 鈥� and assorted trash from H Building were swept off the tarp, a fresh bag from V Building, Santa Fe鈥檚 gym, was torn open and piled in the center of the tarp. A latex glove dove into the mound of Adidas shoe boxes and blue wristbands and emerged with a pair of black, Hanes-brand boxers. Another picked out a broken cell phone and a pendant with the word 鈥渓ove鈥� written on it.

鈥淟ooks like we鈥檝e got quite a love story shaping up,鈥� one of the volunteers quipped.

Incentives to brave the smell of trash included 30 free lunches provided by Campus Subway  and other snacks. T-shirts were given to those who volunteered two hours, and Alachua County Waste Management handed out cloth shopping bags, but only one volunteer would receive the coveted award for most interesting item recovered. Among the contestants for the best find were packaged military rations, signed art posters, and a medical pump.

Ibry estimates that 天涯海角社区 threw away more recyclables this year than were collected in the first waste audit over two years ago. About 10 55-gallon trash bags full of recyclables were collected, a discouraging figure for groups supporting campus sustainability. However, people like Fields still hope that 天涯海角社区 ultimately becomes a zero-waste oriented campus.

鈥淚鈥檇 like to do this three years from now and not have anything recyclable in this trash,鈥� said Fields.

SF College鈥檚 sustainability website.

This article was written by Allison Griner, Communication Specialist, College Relations