Friday, July 4th, 2008

Hirschfeld: Blue containers best way to go green

These recycling containers are easy solutions for students looking to be more environmentally friendly.

By Matt Hirschfeld (Contact)

Monday, February 18th, 2008

You’ve seen them: the blue containers in campus buildings that could be the saviors of our lifetime. You can stuff them full of almost everything in students’ backpacks, with stuff like newspapers, plastic bottles and magazines.

Is it time for students to start noticing these blue recycle inducers, or is time up?

Going green at the University of Kansas is as trendy as Ugg Boots on a warm day. But unlike those furry wannabe hiking boots, the environment is not going out of style.

Everyone is conscious of the environment in some way. I don’t think there are people out there who are dumping trash out the window for fun.

The only real redeeming aspect of trying to go green that all students can participate in is recycling in those blue containers.

I don’t want to confuse being environmentally conscience with tree hugging, though.

Do I need to chain myself to a Redwood or attempt to free Willy?

Or do I only need to use one sheet of toilet paper when I use the restroom to prove to myself I am trying to go green?

When people carelessly leave a light on, I make the effort to shut it off.

I consciously turn off the water when I am brushing my teeth and washing my face.

I reuse water bottles to the point of good taste.

These attempts at being Captain Planet are good enough for me to feel like I am making a difference. But going green is not going to take over my life.

I try to save gas. It is impossible, though, to coordinate with my friends who all have differing student, work and social schedules.

Time is money, and the time it would take to constantly coordinate with my friends’ schedules would be money down the drain.

For now, I’ll stick to the closest thing in my life to carpooling: Park & Ride.

I may not be saving the ozone around Lawrence, but when I am on campus, I do what I can.

I would also love to be able to afford a hybrid car, but rent is due in two weeks, and I’m already scrambling.

I try to eat well. I cannot afford, though, to shop at The Merc and pay 50 cents for an egg. I’m sure that the chickens that produced those eggs were pampered even beyond my wildest dreams, but an egg’s an egg in my fridge.

The blue containers are clearly labeled with what goes where and are located in almost every building on campus.

The University employs 10 students for the recycling initiative that involves the blue containers, and a $4 student fee is applied to campus fees each semester for them. Students are paying for it, so they might as well use it.

Going completely green is a luxury at this point in my life.

It takes time and money, which are aspects of my life that are seldom and too far between.

I’ll stick with flipping light switches, turning off faucets and reusing bottles until that steady paycheck comes in.

But, of course, I’ll use those blue containers.

Hirschfeld is an Augusta junior in journalism.

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