Every day, trash cans on campus are filled with things such as plastic water bottles or soda cups that could instead be recycled. An increasingly large issue is that many people want to throw their trash into the first bin available, regardless of whether the item is trash or a recyclable.
UNM has an abundance of trash cans across campus, but could benefit greatly from an increase in designated recycling areas. Trash bins are often the easiest to find and the most convenient for students, but if recycling bins were added to campus near these trash bins, it would give people a chance to recycle without any added effort. The most straightforward answer to this issue would be an increase in recycling receptacles.
Although this could be a great step in recycling and would take “going green” to the next level, it would take thousands of dollars to implement. We will hopefully see an increase in recycling receptacles in UNM’s future, however in the meantime a much less expensive solution is being worked on by several groups around campus such as UNM Wilderness Alliance, Transition UNM, and the Eco-Representatives. They have come up with a brightly colored graphic to promote and remind people to recycle on campus.
After many ideas and changes it has been decided that a large brightly colored sticker could help promote recycling if implemented correctly. The goal is to place these noticeable stickers on every trashcan around campus. The sticker has pictures of some of the most commonly forgotten recyclable items such as coffee cups, paper soda cups, glass bottles, plastic bottles, and aluminum cans.
At this point the project is awaiting approval from UNM to place the stickers on all trash cans around campus permanently. We hope that in the upcoming weeks the project can be implemented, and UNM will see a large increase in materials being recycled. If anybody would like to help, the groups on campus are always looking for new members.
Katie Orndorff is a member of both the UNM Wilderness Alliance and Transition UNM. Contact Katie at korndorff@unm.edu for more information about this project or about getting involved.
