Student Government Association’s involvement in Recyclemania is a great way to teach students about recycling and get the University collectively involved.

An age-old phenomenon, recycling is not the most serious commitment for most people. Recent debates about climate change have given recycling a different appeal, although there have been few eloquent and convincing arguments on it since Al Gore and Elizabeth Kolbert.

Using the spirit of competition, Recyclemania is a great way to make students excited and motivated about recycling. It is also a great opportunity to educate students about recycling and show them the correct way to recycle.

Waste Management’s Think Green website (www.thinkgreen.com) is a great resource to learn how to recycle responsibly. If done incorrectly, the efforts of recycling can be wasted. If recycled objects are contaminated with food or toxic material, this can be hazardous to waste in general, and the objects will not be recycled.

Recyclemania will be a great opportunity for students to participate in campus-wide sustainability efforts. Participating students should not only encourage their peers to take part in the competition, but also to take it seriously and learn the correct way to recycle.

It should be remembered that the University’s sustainability efforts start with the students. If students expect the University to step up its sustainability efforts, they should be willing to become more responsible for their environment and learn more about how waste is handled and how recycling can help the environment.