Conservation efforts, how ever small, always make an impact both in limiting pollution and by way of ripple effect.
The practice of recycling efforts over the past 10 years has rapidly grown. A large number of schools, businesses and government organizations have independently adopted some form of recycling. State and local governments have created deposit and refunds on beverage containers, set up community recycling facilities for various forms of reusable waste and even paper pick-ups collected with trash.
While there is paper recycling in the computer labs and some offices on this campus, the efforts to reduce and reuse are minimal. Almost every beverage purchased on this campus is bottled and all of those bottles go in the trash.
Countless copies of Newsday and The New York Times are thrown away everyday. Those papers could easily be recycled by placing marked bins near the newsstands. And bottle receptacles in the Student Center would greatly reduce the amount of plastic wasted on a daily basis.
The Student Government Association has made efforts in the past to create such a program but has been met with bureaucratic red tape. It's time to wake up. The University is far behind on environmental responsibility. Recycling is simply too easy to ignore.
As an institution of higher education, the University should maintain a strong commitment to social responsibility, fostering those ideas into the student body. Environmental pollution is a paramount issue right now. Evidence shows the threat pollution poses to the planet and every effort to minimize waste does make a difference.
Creating a comprehensive recycling program on campus would be an excellent initiative for the administration, the Student Government Association and Students Against Injustice to take on. All members of the University should support such an effort from cutting the bureaucracy to doing their part by throwing bottles and paper in the proper place.
Students Against Injustice did made remarkable progress last year in enlisting Lackmann to encourage cafeteria diners to use plates instead of disposable food containers. Sustaining such a program requires a strong participation of students, it may not be easy in the beginning, but eventually it will become a routine for the community.
Side stepping this issue is morally irresponsible, selfish and a simple reflection of lethargy.
It's time this community mobilizes a recycling program that incorporates every facility, department and organization on the campus.