After only a month at the University, first-year students have made a heavy impact -- 23 tons worth.
Over the two-week period surrounding first-year students' Move-In Day in August, the University's Division of Recoverable and Disposable Resources collected and processed 23 tons of cardboard. According to Recycling Program Superintendent Sonny Beale said this amount is slightly up from last year's calculation of 22 tons. Beale added that he wasn't surprised by the increase, attributing it to the efforts during summer orientation to encourage first-year students to conserve and promote recycling on Grounds.
"The students ... did a great job during orientation to get the word out," Beale said. He added that what sets the University apart from other schools is that "U.Va. is one of the few [schools] with a dedicated recycling staff."
A team of four students and Beale worked a combined 413 hours during move-in weekend to collect, transport and process the cardboard.
"We reminded RAs to encourage their residents and set out containers," Beale said.
Third-year Architecture student Sarah Collins, one of the student employees of University recycling and an advisor to the Conservation Advocacy Program, noted the large emphasis placed on recycling throughout Move-In Day.
"There was this mass movement to get anyone available to help," Collins said. "We worked really hard."
Now with Move-In Day behind them, the staff of recycling center is focusing on a variety of other initiatives. Beale said one of the main goals of the center is to create a coalition of all the conservation groups on Grounds.
"A coalition, in my view, is going to be able to work as one voice and be able to show that we need better efforts in more locations," Beale said.
Beale also pointed to several ongoing projects that the center is doing to create a sustainable environment on Grounds, including recycling office supplies, reusing inkjet print cartridges and finding an alternative to styrofoam, especially in the dining halls.
"This was not considered a top priority [at the University] until recently, when there was a big push for sustainability on campuses," he said.
Collins echoed Beale's support of these various new endeavors.
"I'm a big part of Greek Recycling, which is a service where we give frats a barrel and go collect it after a party and recycle all of the cans and glass."
Both Beale and Collins said they hope to expand the initiatives and get the word out as much as they can.
"There are so many areas we can hit on and so many things we can move towards," Beale said.
Read More
Winsome Earle-Sears talks higher education in first U.Va. event of the campaign
By Ford McCracken | 8 hours agoA Jamaican immigrant and a U.S. Marine Corps veteran, Earle-Sears is the first female lieutenant governor of Virginia,
U.Va.'s Earth Day Eco-Fair 2025 spotlights sustainability advocacy
By Leigh Bailey | 8 hours agoStudents from Contracted Independent Organizations and University Office of Sustainability leadership programs each shared their unique perspectives about sustainability advocacy on Grounds.
Student Council votes to relocate Hereford orchard and basketball hoop
By Lauren Seeliger | 18 hours agoStudent Council passed a resolution Tuesday to relocate the orchard and basketball hoop of Hereford Residential College due to construction in the surrounding area.
