Students recycle, bring awareness to recycling programs

UNA’s SGA hopes to give students a new perspective on recycling.

“Recycling is not as hard as you think it is if you have the tools to do it,” said SGA President Ralph Akalonu. “It’s just putting trash in a different bin so that those items can be recycled.”

UNA has been recycling for years, but without much student involvement. The SGA hopes to involve students by educating them on how to recycle.

“People know about recycling, but they don’t know how to do it or believe that it is a hassle, when actually it is really easy,” Akalonu said.

UNA student Michelle Gordy is passionate about recycling and believes others would recycle if they had a better understanding of it.

“Some may think that recycling takes up too much time, but in actuality it only takes three or four seconds to recycle; all you have to do is take the initiative,” she said.

Gordy believes that students should also look at the benefits of recycling.

“Most college students are on a budget of some sort,” she said. “Recycling can help cut some of your costs. For instance, if you carry a reusable water bottle instead of buying canned or bottled drinks, it’s cheaper and helps the environment. I have also started carrying my lunch in a lunch box instead of brown bags.”

The SGA has partnered with UNA and the Florence Recycling Center to bring recycling equipment to UNA. Students should begin to see the equipment on campus next semester. The SGA is also holding a recycling program Nov. 15, which is National Recycling Day. Attendees will receive information on how to recycle and how to use the new recycling equipment.

The SGA hopes that the new equipment will encourage more students to recycle, such as UNA student Rachel Mashburn. Like many students, Mashburn does not recycle because she does not have the resources.

“Now that I have moved, I don’t have a clue of where to go (to recycle), so I don’t,” she said. “I would love to do something better with my plastics and cardboard boxes. If UNA had several bins located in many different locations, such as a few in each building, I absolutely would recycle.”

The SGA has made recycling a long-term goal by adding it to its five-year plan. They hope to push recycling each year as new students come to UNA. They are already going paperless at meetings and making event posters out of old cardboard.

“We’ve taken it upon ourselves within the SGA not only to be a catalyst, but to lead by example,” Akalonu said.