Mother Nature played Benedict Arnold last Thursday. Offered help by motivated and environmentally conscious UB students, Mother Nature turned a cold shoulder and gave wet and miserable weather in return.
The Dumpster Dive, an event organized by six environmental interns, was designed to remind the UB community that recycling on campus needs to be improved. Thirty-three volunteers signed on to aid the cause.
"The purpose of the whole thing was to improve recycling on campus," said intern Rob Nash.
Along with volunteers, the interns and their supervisor, UB Energy Officer Walter Simpson pawned through approximately four tons of garbage, separating the recyclable from the unusable. "Virtually everyone worked in the pouring rain, which is pretty remarkable," Simpson said.
While recycling at UB has made strides in recent years, the university is still quite a distance from its ultimate goal.
"People need to know that the recycling policy isn't working here at UB," said intern Meghan Fay. "This policy states that the university should be recycling 50 percent of its trash. We have improved this policy in the past few years. It is up to 35 percent and we need to fill the gap," Simpson said.
The garbage had been collected from all over campus. About 96 gallons of paper and cardboard were stuffed into big, blue recycling bins.
"If we didn't do this, all of this would have gone to the landfill," Nash said.
No stone was left unturned by the student interns in planning this event. Two nurses from the Office of Student Health Services attended for first aid purposes, but fortunately their help was not needed. "We were concerned about injuries and we feel good that there were none," Simpson said.
The dismal weather could have washed away the participants' good spirits, but organizers went out of their way to keep the mood from sinking. Music played in the background and free refreshments reenergized the tired workers.
"Besides the weather, we had a good turn-out," Fay said.
The student internship is for people who are concerned with improving the environment.
"Recycling isn't a big concern at UB and people need to be more aware," Fay said.
Simpson said that some parts of the community are pulling their own weight while others are lagging behind.
"Recycling is strong in the offices, so-so in the dorms, and weak in the public," Simpson said.
Next on the agenda is the incorporation of a "kiosk" with numerous compartments for materials. Simpson said he believes the kiosk will encourage a greater recycling effort from the public.
Students will take what they learned from the Dumpster Dive and attempt to craft solutions to the many problems that hinder environmental clean-up efforts at UB.
"I can't wait to get the results (from the proposals) so something happens, policies are enforced, and recycling improves," said intern Erin Cala.
The Dumpster Dive was the benefactor of ample media coverage, including local television news.
"I'm happy that people off campus will know also, I'm hoping it will motivate other campuses to try to improve their recycling policies," Simpson said.
Email: news@ubspectrum.com
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
