COLUMN: University fails to make recycling convenient on campus
By: Hannah Nagy
The University of South Dakota does many things right, but one thing it fails to provide is convenient recycling.
The most opportune place for students to recycle appears to be the Muenster University Center and the library. The dorms and academic buildings have limited options, and Coyote Village and McFadden present almost none.
I decided to do an experiment to test my theory that there should be more recycling opportunities put forth.
My first step was to buy a plastic water bottle and carry it around in my backpack after finishing it.
My goal was to dispose of it in a recycling bin at some point during my morning route to classes.
Walking out the main entrance of the MUC, I attended my first class in Delzell and my second in Churchill-Haines. On my return route through the MUC, I was finally able to dispose of my plastic water bottle in a proper recycling container.
It would have been ideal to get rid of the plastic bottle sooner.
This problem requires a solution. Too many recyclables get thrown away each day due to inconvenience.
“(Sustainability is about) leaving things better than what you found them and finding a balance between economics, manageability and environment,” sophomore Carly Holmstrom, member of the USD Sustainability Club said.
Students need to make an effort to recycle, but I do not expect someone to carry recyclables around all day in order to find the proper place to dispose of them. Recycling is one small thing we can do to reduce the waste we create, but it should not be the process it has become.
I would like to think the future generations could see the magnificence of the world as I see it, but as the population grows so does the amount of debris we create.
Recycling is one step toward creating a better place, but it is a team effort that exists between the students and USD’s ability to provide.
A solution may not be as simple as I would like to think it could be, but every resolution takes time and effort.
We have only one world as of now, so we should try our utmost to utilize Earth’s resources as best we can and preserve its beauty and simplicity for future generations.
Follow Hannah Nagy on Twitter at twitter.com/aqua_nagy
