Collegiate Times

There was a time when middle school students recited, ?reduce, reuse, recycle? for a friendly globe cartoon. The zest for preserving and conserving the planet for future generations started smelling almost as fowl as the compost heap in sixth grade science class.Now, the ideals of Captain Planet have seemingly been replaced by the family drunkard, Captain Morgan, and for those not old enough to enjoy the adult beverage, his distant cousin, Captain Crunch. Both leave empty shells full of recyclable potential, yet are often tossed to the trash heap.

Many Virginia Tech students are producing more waste than their former middle school selves, yet doing little about it besides throwing items into the dark abyss of the trashcan.

Why are so many students breaking good habits of recycling for none at all? It seems most students are unaware of Tech?s recycling practices.

?I don?t even know how recycling works on campus ? the students certainly aren?t very well-informed,? said Andrew Hopkins, a graduate student in aerospace engineering.

Daniel O?Connell, fifth year mechanical engineering major, believes availability of recycling information may be hindering students from doing their part. ?Blacksburg doesn?t make it very easy to recycle,? O?Connell.

Others like Mala Kumar, senior marketing management major, have a different approach about recycling inconveniences. ?As I get older, I realize more and more the overall benefits of recycling. So, it's slightly inconvenient, big deal ?, ? Kumar said.

?I don?t have a reason to not make an effort so our world isn?t piled up, head-high in would-be recyclable materials. I think I can drive a few extra miles to get the stuff where it needs to go.?

Student-run organizations such as Environmental Coalition also go the extra mile, recycling paper products for students and faculty who cannot make the drive to the recycling plant.

Kent Lenceski, Paper Recycling Co-Chair for the EC and junior computer science major, said, ?If it?s easier to throw it away, people will most likely go that route.? However, Lenceski hopes to encourage students and staff to put used paper in designated recycling bins on campus. On a weekly basis, various EC members and other clubs/organizations collect the paper from each building and haul it to a main collection point for recycling.

?Even if you don?t recycle, reduce,? Lenceski said.

Students like Karen Peterson, senior interior design major, collect cans and reuses the backs of computer paper.

?I was raised in a community with recycling,? Peterson said. ?It seems so wasteful to not. We could do so much more.?

Students looking for a more creative recycling approach can turn one?s trash into another?s artistic treasure.

?I?m the recycling king!? boasted Virginia Tech sculpture professor, Steve Bickley. His environmental art and design students are in the process of creating Audubon inspired bird sculptures. This bird idea took flight with recycling in mind and a class trip to the Montgomery County Recycling Center.