The campus gets so overridden with trash that it has become necessary to have campus clean-up days to offer some sort of solution to the problem.

One group of students hosted its own campus clean-up day and picked up sixteen 10-gallon bags of garbage in less than three hours.

Listening to the students on campus, many of them are concerned about the amount of litter that exists.

While the cans next to the buildings are helpful, there are not enough of them in the places that they are most needed.

It is sad to say but, when students do not have a place to throw their trash, many throw it on the ground. By giving them a place to dispose of their garbage, Central will have a much cleaner campus. Having trash on the ground when admissions tours come through give Central a bad and dirty image.

That is not the kind of image Central should have.

A possible solution for this issue is adding trash cans to the most highly trafficked areas.

Some of the biggest locations that need attention are the commuter lots.

This was the area the students really focused on during their clean-up day.

The commuter lots have a very limited number of trash cans in the surrounding area.

One possible solution is adding waste receptacles to the light posts in the parking lots. Though these added trash cans would not solve the entire problem, but it would be a start.

Nicholas D. Smith
Rochester sophomore

To assist with that, Central Michigan University brought new recycling bins to pair up with existing trash cans on campus.

“It’s a great thing on campus especially when placed next to the regular trash bin,” said Director of Environmental Studies Thomas Rohrer.

Facilities Management worked on a contract with Kalamazoo-based recycling company Schupan and Sons Inc. for the football season this year.

The recycling bins were intended only for football games. However, Schupan agreed to allow the university to use the recycling bins until the second home football game with no extra cost.

“We can only keep the recycling bins until September 26,” said Student Recycling Coordinator and Metamora senior Nichole Crosson. “After that, they will only be around for football games.”

Staying green

She said she hopes the recycling bins will make a difference.

“We are keeping track of how much is being recycled,” Crosson said. “After everything, we will be giving a presentation to a committee to try and get money for permanent recycling bins around campus.”

Some students would like to see the recycling bins be a permanent addition to campus.

“It makes it easier for students to recycle when the option is right in front of them,” said Parma junior Laura Hills.

The recycling bins around campus are supplied at a low cost to the university. In exchange, the company that supplies the recycling bins keeps all the recycled plastic and uses it for it own products.

“The recycled plastics get used for a variety of things,” Rohrer said. “They can be recycled into plastic pellets or used in clothing.”

There are 35 bins located on campus. Crosson would like to see students recycle more and put the bins to use.

“Right now, we are using the bins around campus as a free trial,” Crosson said. “Hopefully, we will see good results.”