Recyclables fill 'Mt. Trashmore'

While sifting through used food containers, beer cans, and bottles, Ian Watt, CSOM '07, overheard three students walking through the Dustbowl. "Oh my God," one said. "That's ridiculous how many recyclables are thrown away."

Watt spent Friday afternoon, along with students and Facility Services employees, tackling Mt. Trashmore, in an attempt to make people think twice about their forgotten trash.

The group sorted through the mound of approximately 100 trash bags from Main and Upper Campus, dissecting the trash to demonstrate how much thrown away material could have been recycled.

Two hours after they began, the team had filled about 30 bags with recyclable goods that would have otherwise been thrown away.

"We want to encourage the students to realize there's a lot more they can be doing with regards to recycling," said Richard Range, manager of housekeeping utility functions.

Each year, Boston College produces 6,000 tons of trash. Adam Mitchell, general manager of Save That Stuff, collects the 3,000 tons of yearly produced recyclables.

"It's a great idea to raise people's awareness about how much actual trash is generated on campus, and how many recyclables are left in the trash," he said.

After the event, Dave Thayer, co-director of environmental issues for the Undergraduate Government of BC and A&S '05, spoke with members of the administration.

"They have a better idea of how conscious students really are about these issues," he said.

Every day, Upper Campus produces 300 to 400 trash bags and is the worst in terms of recycling, said Mitchell.

"Sometimes I think college students have sort of lost the idea of environmentalism and at other times I think, because they have grown up with recycling, that it's actually integrated more into their life, so they don't have to think about it as much as some older people," said Mitchell, whose company manages recycling for many Boston-area colleges and businesses, including Harvard, Tufts, and Brandeis.

He said that BC recycling, on a scale of one to 10, is an eight. He commended recent efforts but added that there is room for improvement.

BC was recently ranked 16th in RecycleMania, a 10-week intercollegiate competition measuring pounds of recycled material per student at 49 universities across the country.

In the first year of competing, Range and student groups like EcoPledge worked extensively to improve recycling efforts on campus.

Recycling bins were added in the Quad and the Dustbowl, and existing receptacles were labeled with decals, which many found to be easier to read.

Residence halls throughout Upper Campus, including Williams and Cheverus Halls, were given new recycling bins as well.

Range has also worked outside the normal paper and plastic recycling realm. To promote safe disposal, boxes for batteries and ink cartridges were placed in all laundry rooms.

A print management campaign was also launched this year by the Student Learning and Service Center to conserve paper. Though not charging students, it requires students to swipe their Eagle-One card to release their print job.

The changes have come in the wake of a petition distributed by EcoPledge last November, signed by about 1,400 faculty members, students, and staff pledging to recycle more often.

The Mt. Trashmore event, sponsored by EcoPledge and the Environmental Action Committee in conjunction with Housekeeping Utility Functions, was the culmination of Earth Week.