I went for about an hour long walk around campus today checking out what kind of recycling options WMU has to offer. I would have gone to other places that are further away from campus, but I don't have a car to drive myself there and the walk would be a very long one. Here is what I found...
Welborn hall is only a few steps from campus located just down the street from Campus Point. I went there today to check out the recycling service that Western's website said was there. Unfortunately, the building was closed and I saw no signs of recycling activity anywhere. If there is a recycling service still there that anyone knows of, please post on here and say so because I may just have chose the wrong day to go and visit.
I also investigated the dorms. I lived in Henry last year and still remember the recycling bins that were there. Plastic, cardboard and paper were all accepted. At Draper/Sied hall, where I live this year, they only have a bin for cardboard and maybe plastics. In the Valley's they have bins for glass, metal, plastic, paper and cardboard, which are even used by off-campus students as well. Even though I didn't check every dorm for at least one of these bins, I would have to guess each one has them. So, students...you better use them!
Lastly, I noticed the new recycling containers placed around Western's campus. I remember the first time I saw these were just last year and have helped greatly to reduce the amount of waste on campus. I visited three today and took a quick snapshot of each one as I passed by. I'm very curious as to what the Saga stickers mean. I tried researching it and came up with about 30 different answers to what it could be, so if anyone could shed some light on the subject I would greatly appreciate it.The first picture is of the one located at the sidewalk intersection between Dalton, Knauss and the Chemistry building, the second is the one located right next to the flag poles and the last one is located next to the Gazebo at the Valley Ponds.
To wrap up this blog I would like to say that Kalamazoo and WMU have a lot of different ways to recycle. Not only do they provide us with convenient containers around campus for when we need to recycle on the go, but also give us large recycling bins to remind us that we should sort our trash before dumping it. Kalamazoo also provides several recycling centers for the thousands of people that live in the area. I hope this blog was a source of inspiration and motivation to recycle more. With that, I will conclude with this quote from Barry Commoner, an American biologist, college professor and eco-socialist who ran for President of the United States in 1980 on the Citizens Party ticket.
"Recycling is a good thing to do. It makes people feel good to do it. The thing I want to emphasize is the vast difference between recycling for the purpose of feeling good and recycling for the purpose of solving the trash problem."-Barry Commoner
I haven't posted on here in about 10 days because I haven't had anything new to report. My plans to visit a recycling place the past couple of weekends have failed because of lack of planning or even just lack of time due to my crazy end of the semester schedule here at WMU. But, I would like to talk about a very big problem in our society. WASTE MANAGMENT
When I walk down an aisle in any given convenience or grocery store I see an over use of packaging for most items. Accessories are the worst by far. Razors, blow dryers, and shavers tend to come in plastic containers about 3 times their size. Think of how much energy is put into making not just the accessories, but the plastic their wrapped in. I understand that electronics need protection so they don't break in transit, but the amount of foam pieces that come with a television box is just plain crazy! Why waste energy creating those when they only cause harm to the environment after disposal? Survey says, it is far cheaper than creating a better fitting box for the T.V. and properly securing it during transit. Money controls the business world a little too much sometimes.
So, if we are so aware of waste and pollutants these days, why are they still a problem? Recycling has been on the rise for over two decades now and could potentially eliminate waste all together someday. We understand very well how toxic waste dumping and burning of trash can lead to terrible health conditions for any living creature through the thousands of examples from the past century of waste blunders. Why haven't we ridden society of such disgusting habits? It all comes down to mind over matter. The matter referring to the packaging thrown away each day by everyone who eats easy to prepare meals and snacks that are cheap and quick, perfect for the on the go individual. Emphasis on the "on the go" part. Our society is so fast paced because of our longing to succeed in a very demanding and growing world. The mindset of the average person doesn't think about the environment they speed by every day on their way to work or to pick up the kids from school or to the next big party on a Friday night. People naturally think of people before they think about the environment and how it affects them.
Now, I know what you are thinking. "Oh, geez! Another lecture on how I am a terrible person for being human and wanting to advance in life and forgetting that other stuff goes on." That is not what I mean at all, actually. I am referring to the fact that even with these busy lives, people can still care about something more than just themselves. That is a harsh statement, but please, prove me wrong if you can. When brushing my teeth sometimes, I stand next to a guy who is doing the same thing, but leaves the water running the ENTIRE time he is brushing. My question is, why? He isn't using it while he's brushing! Just put some water on the tooth paste, turn the sink off, then brush. It really is that easy. But, unfortunately, he doesn't realize that water is limited on planet Earth. He thinks it is just there for him to brush his teeth and make himself look pretty in the morning. This is a VERY common problem with our way of thinking. Too many of us see the environment as our playground, liable to do anything we want to it without consequence.
That is what needs to change in order to successfully turn our society into "clean and green" instead of staying "mean and green". The mindset of the human race must switch over to a new way of thinking. Instead of us trying to change the environment to the way we want it we must ADAPT to it. Humans are actually very good at this particular activity. How do you think we can live all over the world with temperatures ranging from -70 to 130 degrees Fahrenheit and continue to grow in population even with natural disasters of all kinds leaving us bewildered at times? We were meant to adapt and respect the environment. If it wasn't here, we wouldn't be either. Simple as that. Now that I have given you my perspective on the future of waste management, I'd like to hear your opinions on my perspective or just this topic in general. The only way I can grow in my knowledge of this subject is to hear some critical feedback. So, once again, don't hesitate to comment.
For my Nature and Society class, I took a look at carbon footprints. First, I checked out my own...
-I live in the dorms at Western Michigan University, specifically in Draper. Which means, I technically live in an apartment. That also means that I can't control the type of lighting or appliances installed for the building, so I'm not efficient in that way.
-I don't own a car, but I might as well. I ride with people to their apartments, restaurants and stores at least 4 or 5 times a week. My approximate mileage a week is around 40. Not sure if I can really count this towards my carbon foot print, but this is what I'll be doing next year when I have a car anyways. I've only made one short flight within the past year.
-My diet is a little random at times. I am a college student living off of a meal plan, which consists of cafeteria food that is medium quality food about 75% of the time, but most of this food is processed in some way. I try to eat a salad once a day along with a few servings of fruit to balance out the several servings of meat and/or starch I receive daily.
-I am somewhat satisfied with the recycling bins that sit outside of each dorm at WMU, but I find it hard to sort everything I would like to due to certain restrictions for each bin.
Overall, I had a carbon footprint of 9.8 tons of CO2 per year, a considerable amount lower than the average 27 tons per year for a single person household. Once I start traveling more, my footprint is bound to go way up, but hopefully not too much.
Then I looked at my parents...
-They live in a single family home with 4 bedrooms. They are environmentally aware and installed more efficient lighting wherever possible, but have not been able to upgrade to energy saving appliances yet. Hot water is conserved most of the time.
-Due to my dad's job, he has to drive about 64 miles one way to work about 3 times a week, totaling up to about 400 miles of driving per week. My mom works in town and makes sure she only drives into town once per day if she can help it, totaling up to around 90 miles a week. They've only made one short flight this past year to Florida and usually never take long flights.
-Their diet consists of a healthy dose of meat throughout the week and sometimes even organic food, making their food related carbon footprint below average.
-They also are really active in recycling boxes, paper, plastic and glass containers.
Overall, they had an estimated carbon impact of 70 tons of CO2 per year, about 17 tons per year more than the average 2 person household in the United States. Those extra miles put on by my dad inflate their footprint a lot.
After viewing the differences between Apartment carbon footprints and single family Household carbon footprints, I see a drastic increase in the amount of CO2 emitted from a home based on how many people live in that home. Once I live with someone else(2 other people starting next year) my carbon footprint will most likely be much higher and look a lot more like the average footprint per person in the United States. My hope for the future is that we can build a more efficient and environmentally friendly way of living so that our carbon footprint can look a little more like mine does now instead of what my parents have.
When I first started researching the recycling options in Kalamazoo, I realized that I did not know anything about recycling in Kalamazoo myself. Back home, my family and I take recycling to a center with large portable bins for flattened boxes, glass, paper and plastics. When full, these are transported to a processing plant where the materials are broken down. But, I had no clue of where to look for a center in Kalamazoo to take these. None of my friends knew either, so I researched online what I found were multiple options within a 10 minutes drive from Western.
Welborn hall- Located on West Michigan Ave across the street from WMU's main campus.
Coating Pilot Plant- Located on WMU's Engineering campus. A link to a website for both of these is listed below.
Kalamazoo City Recycling- 415 East Stockbridge Ave.
Schupan & Sons- Located at 2619 Miller Road
Best Way Disposal Inc.- Located at 2314 Miller Road
Re-Bro Inc.- 2105 Glendenning Road
I could not acquire updated information on these places. It is now my mission to go and visit a few of these places so I can post more updated and detailed information on this blog next week.
Up until now, I've viewed each city I've been to in a similar way. Chicago, IL; Rochester, NY; Raleigh, NC; Tampa Bay, FL; New Orleans, LA. All of these big cities started off focused mainly on one thing: to create unique attractions and restaurants in order to bring people to their city and eventually create a family friendly environment. Unfortunately, all of these ended up the same way. Public transportation and attractions turned into dirty and sometimes dangerous situations for citizens who lived in the city. In order to still enjoy these cities, but not have to deal with the "dirty" habits adopted by the inner-city, sub-burbs were created so families could be raised with the influence of both the quite "suburbian" lifestyle and the exciting influence of a city. Unfortunately, big cities have one enormous flaw. There is no sense of community between the residents of any of the cities listed above. Sure, there are a lot of separate communities within a city that thrive. But, when it comes to involving everyone in decisions, cities ultimately fail.
Curitiba in Brazil literally shocked me when I read chapter 2 of Hope, Human and Wild by Bill McKibben. He described a place that I thought only existed in fiction books about the future. A city where there are hardly any cars in the streets. Where you feel comfortable walking without the fear of theft. Where public transportation is clean, efficient and affordable. In this city, residents are encouraged to pick up trash around the city, for every bag of trash they bring in the city supplies them with a meal. The one thing that separates Curitiba from the rest of the cities around the world is the fact that most residents live close to the center of the city. There are only small clusters of homes and slums on it's outskirts due to the population boom within the past decade. Reading about this city restored some hope inside of me that every city could someday be like Curitiba. Any city that doesn't strive to be like this will most likely be forgotten in the future.
With this in mind, let us make future cities cleaner and stronger than ever before.
Yesterday, I interviewed my friend Shannon about her views on the availability of recycling here at Western Michigan University. "Could be better," was her response. In February, Hoekje hall offered to pick up people's recycling if they put it outside of their door. Unfortunately, this offer was only temporary. I have also noticed the lack of advertisement for recycling around campus(at least from what I can see).
In no way am I accusing Western of being lazy. There are recycling containers outside of every dorm for many different types of waste such as paper, plastic and cardboard. Unfortunately, students here at Western are very distracted with school and activities and don't really pay attention to the details of dumpsters. Advertisement is something that could really grab the attention of students. Sidewalk chalk, posters and even announcements on Western's website could help make students more aware that they have more than just one option when it comes to disposing of waste. And, offering to pick up people's recycling at their doors is a great motivator for us college students who like convenience whenever possible. I am also guilty of not separating my garbage due to being busy. I would also like to hear the opinions of other students who have lived or are living on campus. So, please...don't feel shy to comment on this post. :)
The first two chapters of Eaarth by Bill McKibben captured my attention in a very different way. He starts off by stating boldly that we no longer live on the planet Earth. The climate change that our planet is going through right now could potentially place us in a much more hostile environment. He uses quotes from Thomas Friedman's book Hot, Flat and Crowded to give the reader a better perspective on the not so far away future that is Eaarth. McKibben states that the biggest bad habit we need to leave behind is the old mentality that growth makes everything better and to adopt a new respect for the planet we live on by changing with the planet instead of trying to change the planet itself into our own temporary paradise.
The truth hurts, but it helps us grow. Let us take these first steps together, so that we can create a better tomorrow for the human race.
