Lock Down on Litter

Ferris State University spends extra money to keep campus clean

Ferris State University spends a large amount of money every week to maintain a litter-free campus, which has warranted concern from many.

According to Mike Hughes, Associate Vice President of the Ferris State University Physical Plant, the university spends approximately $1,000 every week on labor to pick up all of the trash on campus.

Ferris’ grounds crew, which includes student workers, spends the first hour of every day picking up trash around the campus. These workers begin their trash pickup at 7 a.m. before the campus gets busy to minimize the amount of garbage people will see.

“There is a high cost involved with having hourly staff picking up trash on campus,” said Hughes.

The university also has the responsibility of keeping State Street litter free, which involves a lot of time and effort from the grounds crew as well.

There are many trash cans located at convenient points around campus and they cost the university over $100 to put there, according to Hughes. If these trash cans aren’t used, it could be viewed as a loss of money to the university in more than one way.

When students and other people on campus litter, the campus becomes less aesthetically pleasing. Hughes said that the amount of trash scattered throughout campus could have an effect on recruiting students to attend Ferris. Hughes said that it is important to present a good image when trying to recruit potential students.

“A large percentage of the administration and staff go out of their way to pick up any trash that they see on campus,” said Hughes. “It sends a powerful message to people when they see someone in a suit such as President Eisler picking up garbage.”

The administration feels that maintaining a litter-free campus is important for many different reasons. It can effect the number of students that choose to attend Ferris, it can cost the university excess money and can make the university less pleasing to those who are on campus regularly.