‘Listen up, you couch potatoes: each recycled beer can save enough electricity to run a television for three hours.’ – Denis Hayes, American environmental activist
While President Barack Obama’s comprehensive stimulus plan is prepared to support a new green-collared economy, I am asking for something that does the same but is much easier and considerably cheaper. In fact, it’s free. It doesn’t take a lot to recycle your empty Vitamin Water bottles and empty Starbucks cups, but it can make a huge difference in making our society and natural environments cleaner and more sustainable. Now more than ever is the time to alter our wasteful habits and be the change we want to see in this world. In a culture plagued by waste and consumerism, Americans can decrease their carbon footprints by taking a few steps to recycle.
Literally, a few steps.
There are recycling bins for paper in every building on campus, and students can recycle aluminum, plastic and glass at the Boston University Fitness and Recreation Center, Mugar Memorial Library, the George Sherman Union, the School of Law, the School of Education and the School of Management, as well as in every dormitory. On the second and third floor of SMG, the recycling bins can be found next to the girls’ bathrooms, where the ATM and fax machines are located. You can even recycle your electronics! For smaller items such as cell phones and iPods, drop them off at 704 Commonwealth Ave. For larger electronics such as computer monitors, keyboards and laptops, bring them to the second floor of the Office of Environmental Health and Safety. For ink cartridges and more information about recycling on campus, go to www.bu.edu/recycling. Today, we can and should recycle just about anything. Although BU has not placed a recycling bin in every classroom yet, it’s still important to think about recycling that paper cup every time you drink your last sip of caramel macchiato. Instead of tossing your glass iced tea bottle in a garbage can on the street, carry it for just a few more minutes to a recycling bin in a nearby building. I know old habits die hard, but I believe small, daily improvements can ultimately make significant changes to our society, our natural environments and the futures of both our generation and the generations to come.
Linda Yin
SMG ’10
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My letter to the Daily Free Press was simply to encourage students and make them more aware of utilizing our campus’ recycling resources. However, I do fail to acknowledge that reducing our consumption and resusing the things we already have are the most efficient ways to make an impact on the environment. Afterall, the saying goes, “Reduce, reuse, recycle.” I emphasize recycling in my letter because it is difficult to ask people to refrain from purchasing, so if they must, at least dipose garbage in a recyling bin, not a landfill. And, even though one sheet of paper being recycled doesn’t go on to produce the equivalent of one more piece of paper, it doesn’t mean it’s not worthwhile to recycle.