It is commonly thought that individual people can only do so much to impact the larger world around them. But just how much does an individual cost the Earth?
This semester, Student Council’s University Environmental and Sustainability Committee and Assoc. Environmental Science Prof. Deborah Lawrence created Environmental Footprints, an environmental science course designed to critically examine one’s impact on the Earth and to find ways to minimize the effects.
Participating students collected all of the trash they produced last week, gathering in Clark Hall Friday afternoon to weigh and sort the waste into recyclables, compost and landfill-destined trash.
“We hoped it would make us more conscious of where on-Grounds trash was coming from,” third-year College student Michelle Henry said. Students often produce excess trash without even realizing it.
Third-year college student Wynnie Long added that the project was designed to show students how much unnecessary trash is produced even on a small scale. Regardless of the project’s aim, however, first-year College student Lily Bowles said she thought the class was not a true representation of an average student.
“Those who participated are more environmentally conscious of what they are consuming, so there is not as much trash here as people would normally generate,” Bowles said, noting that many of the students are members of the Sustainability Committee.
The students agreed they were more careful than usual to avoid excessive waste and to collect less trash.
“After I’d collected four coffee cups, I bought one of the reusable ones,” fourth-year College student Melissa Warnke said. “And I stopped getting to-go bags — I just carried my bagels in napkins.” Henry said she began the week thinking that she could easily reduce her waste. But then she cleaned her room and ended up with two bags of trash.
Henry collected 8,500 grams of trash, compared to the average of 400 to 600 grams each of her classmates gathered. Third-year College student Rachel Baker only collected 225 grams.
All manner of interesting items emerged, especially from Henry’s room cleanup, including a Valentine’s Day chocolate dog that quickly found a new home after one student quipped, “One man’s trash, another’s treasure!”
Not all that was collected was actual trash, however. For instance, of Henry’s 8,500 grams, only 300 grams were destined for a landfill. In fact, most of the waste collected was recyclable.
“There are recycling facilities at the University and in Charlottesville, and as a community, we’ve committed to recycling,” Lawrence said. Student activities fees and taxes fund most of the facilities, which simply need to be used, she added.
If plastic and other recyclable materials are disposed of properly, they are less of environmental villains than is often thought. A plastic bag actually has a smaller carbon footprint than the average paper bag, Lawrence said. Plastic bags are also lighter and cheaper to produce. But if they are simply thrown on the ground, they can cause damage to animals and plants, Lawrence added.
“There is so much trash in convenient foods, such as muesli bar wrappers and bottled drinks,” second-year College student Caroline McCraw said.
Curtailing plastic waste, though, is more easily done than one might think.
“I was surprised that by going to a dining hall, I reduced much of my plastic waste,” third-year College student Ben Abraham said.
As Lawrence noted, however, the leftovers collected in a dining hall meal are not an accurate picture of all that is being used in the production of a meal. Packaging, food scraps, water and cooking oils could not be counted in the project but are still forms of waste.
Overall the students appeared pleased with the project — although they were conscious of its faults because of the short time period during which it was conducted — and seemed committed to continue trying and reduce their trash production.
In addition to examining ways of reducing one’s ecological impact, the course also aims to identify environmental fallacies, Lawrence said.
“It’s about understanding the trade-offs we should make,” she said, “knowing what is better for the Earth.”
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