First Mission: Recycling
October 8, 2008 at 1:59 am 1 comment
For as long as I can remember I have been told to recycle whenever it is possible. In grade school our teachers used to let us go to recess early if we picked up paper off the ground and put it in the recycle, and in high school if our teachers caught us throwing paper in the garbage we were given detention. My hyper-environmentally-aware mother also had recycling bins for each different kind of reusable material in our home.
When I entered college and I moved into the Theta Alpha chapter of Delta Delta Delta, I noticed that there was not one single recycling bin in the entire house. While this fact initially surprised me, I didn’t dwell on it; however, the idea of zero recycling bins did not sit well with some of my other eco-friendly sisters who began a strategic campaign to implement more green practices in our house.
“We already have garbage cans. I don’t see why we need recycling cans too,” stated Sandy “Mizzay” Anderson, the house mother of Theta Alpha who is responsible for the physical structure and functions of the sorority. “You girls can’t even throw regular trash in the garbage can, how will you decide what to put in the recycling bin?”
Although Theta Alpha’s waste disposal habits could use some improvement, an effort needed to be made because everyone has a responsibility to protect the environment. Plus, all members could use a refresher course on recycling basics.
“Without recycling, given current virgin raw material supplies, we could not print the daily newspaper, build a car, or ship a product in a cardboard box,” said editor of Resource Recycling magazine, Jerry Powell in “How to Recycle Practically Anything” by Sally Deneen. “Recycling is not some feel-good activity; it is one of the backbones of global economic development.”
After two years of campaigning for recycling bins, Theta Alpha has formally committed itself to the green movement. This past Monday, recycling bins were installed in the kitchen, study lounge and chapter room.
Now the real challenge will be teaching 99 girls to actually consciously use the receptacles. Can the members of Theta Alpha really go green or is this a mission impossible?
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1. rabeam | October 17, 2008 at 10:42 pm
I like this idea for a blog — it’s going to be like following a group of people on a journey.
A couple of things: The first person works well. But I notice that you write more concisely on our class assignments. So I just raise this as an issue: Can you write personally but not with as little “flab” as in your other assignments? I don’t want to trample on your voice, but I wonder if a little more conciseness would make the posts stronger. For example:
“For as long as I can remember, I have been told to recycle. In grade school our teachers let us go to recess early if we picked up paper off the ground and recycled it. And in high school, if teachers caught us throwing paper in the garbage, we got detention. My hyper-environmentally aware mother had recycling bins for each kind of reusable material in our home.”
Get the idea? Again, just something to consider. Minor mechanical: Adverbs that end in “ly” typically aren’t hyphenated as part of a compound modifier. See the last sentence above. 4 (photo)