Doing the little things from recycling to unplugging phone chargers to printing double-sided pages can help save energy, the Environmental Health and Safety Office suggested to students on America Recycles Day yesterday.
Forced to congregate under overhangs at Marsh Plaza to avoid the rain, student recycling coordinator Rachel Weil, a College of Arts and Sciences sophomore, said the group ran into a few Mother Nature-related obstacles setting up the drive, but some dedicated conservationists were not deterred.
Mackie Welch, who helped organize the recycling drive, said a big part of the recycling problem at Boston University revolves around the “convenience issue.”
“People won’t do a lot of things unless it’s incredibly convenient,” the CAS junior said. “We have a very large urban campus, so it’s harder to make it convenient.”
The Environmental Health and Safety Office hosted the annual drive and invited more groups than last year through flyers and advertising on Facebook.com, Welch said.
Items recycled included plastic, glass, paper and electronics, and Espresso Royal – a green restaurant on Commonwealth Avenue – donated bagels and coffee for students who brought their own mugs. BU Dining Services also provided vegan cookies.
The Environmental Student Organization – a group aiming to raise environmental awareness – also came to the drive with a photo petition that included holding up a sign shaped like a dialogue box that read, “I support the Global Warming Solutions Act.”
Volunteers also handed out fact sheets listing green restaurants and markets in the area and ways of “being green at BU.”
Environmental Health and Safety environmental manager Paul Kelly said although BU recently launched a sustainability website and is taking some environmentally friendly steps, there is a lot more for students to do.
“The biggest barrier is attitude and behavior changes of the people,” he said. “We can’t go into people’s rooms and recycle for them. We provide everyone on campus a chance to recycle.”
ESO member Kelsey Howarth, a CAS freshman, said BU is not very sustainable because it does not have recycling bins in most academic buildings.
It is often easier to access trash cans in dormitories rather than search for recycling facilities, said School of Education freshman Jaimie Orlosk.
BU should also take small measures to conserve energy, including keeping computers in standby mode, said ESO member Hannah Leone.
“When you set computers on energy savings, they sleep,” the CAS sophomore said. “This saves power, which would save BU money.”
The administration should adopt policies that make it easier for students to recycle, especially on Bay State Road and in South Campus, where recycling is the most difficult, said CAS senior Joe Sacchi.