October 16, 2007

The Margin
Phi Beta Recycle

Tom Kingston l contributing columnist
tkingston@smcvt.edu

The thing that amazes me most about St. Michael's College is that we are affiliated with the Phi Beta Kappa Society, the most prestigious honor society in the world. For that to have happened, the national PBK must have been convinced that there are a lot of people at St. Michael's College who are way-smart.

What the national PBK doesn’t know is the best way to measure the intellectual vibration of a college campus is to analyze its trash. Had they done this, they would have known that people who were alive in the Dark Ages had a better grip on recycling than most of the people here.

There are certain groups of people who are not yet recyclers, but soon should become recycling leaders.

When athletes are returning to the dorm, I sometimes ask, “How was practice?” The most common answer is “brutal.” I completely respect anyone who has the determination needed to play on a varsity team. Between the buses, hotels, coaches, trainers, referees, equipment, uniforms, upkeep of the pool and courts, ice rink rentals and the Block M dinner, the college spends about $6 billion per year on varsity sports. Athletes should recycle.

How do I know athletes don’t recycle? If you’re on a team, I’ve seen the roster, I know your name. Cookies from Gramma, books from Amazon and computers from Gateway come to you in the mail. If you’re like most people, you take the goodies out and dump the cardboard box (with your name on it) in the trash. You should put the bubble wrap and foam packing material in the trash, flatten the box, and put it in (or next to) the recycle bin.

Resident assistants are committed to making this a safe, comfortable and interesting community. They decorate about 50 bulletin boards throughout the dorms with information that is sometimes quite serious, sometimes hilarious. They host events on their floors and in some parts of campus they distribute toilet paper. There are only 12 RAs who recycle. How do I know this? When they make up the bulletin boards, most of them will put the old material in the trash. They put signs up announcing their socials and the following morning they put the pizza boxes in the trash. When cartons that once contained eight dozen rolls of toilet paper end up in the dumpster, I can guess who put them there.

Honors students (for the most part) don’t recycle. When your professor hands back your exam, it has your name on it, your grade and the name of your class. Honors economics and managerial accounting are not easy classes. Students who get top grades study hard. They know that recycling is not reflected in their grades. It will not increase their chances of getting an enjoyable job after graduation.

Employees also need to do a better job of recycling. Materials made from recycled items have less impact on the environment. Everyone should at least become a “basic recycler” and recycle this:

Bottles: Beer bottles, soda bottles, juice bottles, wine bottles, spring water bottles and liquor bottles. Beverage bottles (and cans, too) should go in the recycle bin. (No liquids. If you don’t want to drink it all, pour the extra product down the sink. If you’re using the bottle as a receptacle for chewing tobacco spittle or other yucky stuff, that bottle is not suitable for recycling, throw it in the trash.)

Boxes: Corrugated cardboard (boxes with wavy center). Put non-recyclable contents in the trash (bubble wrap, packing foam, et cetera). Cereal boxes – remove inner bag.

Paper: Photocopy paper, magazines and newspapers.

Do not put items in the recycle bin unless you know for sure that it goes there. More information is available for advanced recyclers.

Tom Kingston was the chair of the Montpelier Recycling Committee (1991) and has been a custodian at St. Michael's College since 1999.