Sustainable Carolina examines students' recycling habits
Normally, throwing trash into a garbage can is an “out of sight, out of mind” affair. But Tuesday, that trash landed on Greene Street, and Sustainable Carolina sifted through its contents.
The heap of refuse — all 50 or so bags — represented just one day’s collection from the cans around the Russell House patio, and the results, said first-year pharmacy student Olivia Haley, were not entirely surprising.
“What we’re finding are a lot of these biodegradable boxes that are actually compostable, we’re finding a ton of these one-use cups and a lot of bottles and things that can be recycled, like newspapers,” she said. “I don’t think anything really surprised me.”
Just 45 minutes into the event, which fell on the annual America Recycles Day, the garbage was piling up, mostly with the discarded, biodegradable boxes and stacks of foam to-go cups.
“It’s supposed to be compostable, but when you put it in a landfill, it just gets preserved, because landfills don’t allow air in and out,” said Samantha Sundquist, a third-year environmental science student.
Carolina Dining Marketing Manager Cynthia Steele said she wasn’t sure if the boxes would break down if they made it into landfills, but that Dining had moved to the biodegradable design so that they could work with composting infrastructure as it became available.
Sundquist offered her advice to students on how they can reduce their waste.
“I would definitely encourage people to use the regular cups and plates, especially if you’re just eating on the patio,” she said. “It’s not going to take that much effort to go back in and put the plate back.”