MU is currently a Big 12 Conference leader in recycling, but those standards aren’t very high, and we want to see more.
MU recycles roughly 31 percent of its waste, totaling 2,531 tons of waste each year. It’s a sad fact that the Midwest leader, based on the public recycling figures we could actually find, is only recycling a third of its waste.
To be fair, the recycling movement at MU grew exponentially in the recent decade, and we commend the many efforts made to make MU a greener community. Who doesn’t love those trashcans with the “landfill” reminder displayed so prominently? We’re certainly fans.
The Sustainahouse is also off to a successful start and is something we could work on expanding in the future.
Sustain Mizzou is also doing its fair share with various programs, such as accepting old electronics and participating in Tiger Tailgate Recycling. According to the program director, TTR accounted for 10 percent of the 2,531 tons MU recycled last year, and it was only able to collect about half of the waste created during tailgating.
May we propose fan can recycling bins on lots commonly used for tailgating? Bars and restaurants should participate, too. Knowing any — ahem — bottles used are being recycled rather than trashed after the wait staff takes them away could make customers feel just a little bit better about the purchase.
Even with all of the recycling triumphs at MU, we want to see more. There’s no reason MU can’t reach the uber-green status of the coasts, with help from other local resources of course.
Much of what’s holding MU back is Columbia’s resources. The city only takes No. 1 and No. 2 plastics, aluminum, paper, cardboard and limited other miscellaneous products.
Luckily, the Mid-Missouri Solid Waste Management District is granting the city of Columbia two $5,000 grants to increase recycling in the city. Columbia is also pitching in its own $3,334 to the effort.
The money will specifically go to creating extra recycling opportunities to recycle in office buildings and apartment complexes off-campus. Hopefully, given the extra resources to recycle, the idea will become a natural part of Columbia culture.
It’s difficult to recycle at apartment complexes and neighborhoods that offer rotating recycling bins every week or so. Nobody wants to let trash pile up waiting for a place to toss their recyclable products.
The community could perform better outreach about what programs are available, too. Communities could notify their residents about when the recycling truck comes and that large pile of paper lying on every freshman’s desk when he or she arrive at MU should explain where they can recycle. The residence halls are pretty green, but it’s good to know where to take ink cartridges and plastic grocery bags, too.
As far as the many sustainability organizations at MU go, they could try educating the community more. Perhaps the reason the West Coast is more proactive is because the region can more readily see the negative effects of not recycling.
Some cities have terrible air quality and layers of smog. Others show the mass trash pile-ups on beaches. Seeing the community in need is a great motivator, and to many from the open cornfields of the Midwest, such issues as global warming and detriments to the environment seem like far away issues.
Rather than showing Midwesterners pictures of dying seals and polar ice caps melting away, show us the problems in our own country. Cute animals tug at plenty of heartstrings, but so does seeing suffering within our own borders.
Columbia could do more to motivate its citizens too. Many metropolitan areas pay for recycled goods. Even if it’s minuscule amounts, the “every little bit counts” theory applies in both instances here. Sure, citizens shouldn’t need to receive cash payments to recycle their goods, but given the fact it’s often out of the way or requires saving waste for days or weeks at a time, there should be some reward, especially if it can create a lifelong habit.
With more resources, more education and more opportunities, there’s no reason Columbia can’t improve its recycling efforts. This is especially true because Columbia is a college town with active college groups proactively standing behind its recycling efforts.
