Ferris’ lack of a campus recycling program is disconcerting and frankly, quite embarrassing.
For approximately the last 15 years of my life, I’ve been dedicated to reducing, reusing and recycling products.
While some may think my recycling efforts are only a small dent in a bigger problem, it’s better than not recycling at all. Recycling has existed in the United States for hundreds of years and even beyond that, so doesn’t it make sense to bring more attention this issue?
Every other Michigan college and university has more of a recycling program than Ferris, and the majority of them accept a variety of recyclables and have receptacles inside all offices, academic buildings and residential halls.
Grand Valley may be our rival, but their recycling program is worth noticing. They are so jazzed about recycling that they even participate in a 10-week nation-wide competition called RecycleMania to help increase recycling across campus and raise awareness.
You know what would be a great idea? If Ferris held its own recycling competition where students could get involved with recycling in the residents halls. Even with this small effort, I would be excited about the awareness it could raise.
Imagine: students who haven’t had the opportunity to recycle could now get involved on campus. This could be a chance for Ferris to become a more sustainable university.
Now you might be wondering why Ferris needs to step up its recycling game. Just within the last century, the earth has warmed by 1 degree Fahrenheit and the temperatures of the Northern Hemisphere have increased by 4 to 7 degrees Fahrenheit over the last 50 years. At the rate our Earth is changing, we need to do everything we can to keep our environment healthy, especially the environment surrounding Ferris State.
Ferris Recyclers, an RSO dedicated to recycling, can only do so much volunteer rallying of recyclables. It’s not their sole responsibility to save campus and educate students on recycling; that’s a job for the university.
Regardless, I can say I certainly imagined more before entering a campus that has no respect for our surroundings.