Michael Conti

It’s 10 a.m. on a Friday morning and chances are you’re either in class or catching up on some needed rest. But last Friday morning, April 24, about a dozen students in total were spending their early hours sifting through garbage. The Student Environmental Action League (SEAL) was hosting their annual waste audit, a measure of how well RIT students are recycling. Facilities Management Services, the Monroe County Recycling Center, and SEAL worked together to gather random trash samples from different buildings. Students emptied the trash piece by piece, then removed and weighed mistakenly sorted recyclables. Some of their findings were embarrassing (for example, large stacks of paper and water bottles), while others indicated encouraging progress on the part of students and administrators to protect the environment.

“We’re in a global crisis, and recycling is one of the easiest things you can do to reduce your carbon footprint,” commented Nevin Byrd, third year International Studies student. Tyler Stewart, recycling administrator and third year Marketing student, elaborated, “[By] recycling instead of using raw materials, we will subsequently use less oil.” Oil consumption may typically be thought to only happen at the gas pump, but, in reality, a surprising amount of our life is oil-based. From the petroleum base in most toothpastes, to the gasoline used in the production of corn, to plastic yogurt containers, our lives are very much dependent upon the supply of oil.

Michael Conti

Now environmental costs are beginning to show. Scientists worldwide have linked increases of carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere from the combustion of fossil fuels to significant climate changes, something the RIT administration directly acknowledges.

In commemoration of Earth Day on April 22, President Destler joined a growing list of 303 college presidents around the United States by signing the American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment. The Climate Commitment states:

“We recognize the scientific consensus that global warming is real and is largely being caused by humans. We further recognize the need to reduce the global emission of greenhouse gases by 80 percent by mid-century at the latest, in order to avert the worst impacts of global warming”

By signing the commitment, Destler has laid plans to achieve a date for campus-wide carbon neutrality, which is loosely defined as “achieving net zero carbon emissions by balancing a measured amount of carbon released with an equivalent amount offset.” This could imply buying carbon credits while investing in alternative energies and promoting recycling programs on campus.

“Largely, people don’t care enough about recycling,” said Stewart. Byrd added, “People don’t have that kind thing on their mind ... it’s not part of our culture to recycle ... Changing that culture, now that’s important.” The culture to which Byrd is referring is commonly known as the “culture of waste.” This is the over-consumption of goods that we will not need, will not last, and will make us financially unstable by purchasing them.

Michael Conti

According to economist Max Wolff, the precipitous amount of national debt that the United States owes is related to its position in the global marketplace as the preeminent consumer. “One out of every three dollars privately spent on consumption in the whole world is spent here in the United States,” according to Wolff. Although only accounting for 4.5 percent of the world’s population, the people of the United States consume at an incredible rate, therefore creating an unprecedented amount of waste and debt.

While statistics may indicate national apathy towards recycling, RIT has emerged as a leader. In a nationwide competition among hundreds of colleges known as RecycleMania, RIT placed fifth per capita in terms of percentage of waste recycled. At the end of the day, 28.5 percent of the trash sampled was recyclable. This is significantly better than last year’s findings, where it was found that 46 percent of trash could have been recycled. RIT is now recycling 41.7 percent of the waste it generates. Says Stewart: “The Institute shares my personal goal of reaching the 50 percent mark and, with giant steps like these, I can see it soon happening.”