Are you continually aware of how much garbage you produce? Probably not. Keeping track of your trash is, to say the least, not very interesting.
At first glance, being aware or your consumption habits appears not to be very beneficial. So here’s the trash talk at ETSU.
According to a recent survey of 147 ETSU students, we contribute an average of 2.62 ten-gallon bags of trash per student each week.
That translates into over 300,000 gallons of trash generated by ETSU students in a one-week period. That’s more than enough to completely fill the CPA swimming pool.
Almost all of the trash produced by students living on campus or in Johnson City makes its way to Iris Glen Environmental Center, the city dump. This landfill covers over 264 acres of land, and at the rate we’re going, will be completely full in less than 16 years.
When the landfill is full, where will our trash go? Will we clear more farmland, forests or other natural areas for our garbage? Will we export our trash to somewhere else at the expense of tax payers?
While students contribute to a major proportion of the trash produced in Johnson City, we have the potential to significantly reduce this amount.
On average, students who completed the survey felt that more than 40 percent of their garbage could be recycled. This would help tremendously, so why don’t we actually do it?
While ETSU and student organizations provide recycling services for paper and aluminum cans, only 30 percent of students say they recycle paper and only 27 percent recycle aluminum.
When we buy products we are consumers. When we throw out trash we are also consuming, not products but valuable land space, gas in trash trucks and human resources.
Why not give back a little and make the current landfill last a little longer by recycling more?
Student organizations pride themselves for community service. Programs are still needed for recycling plastic and glass on campus. Spend some quality time with our trashy habits and make them work for our benefit. Other Interesting Consumption Behavior:
* Average number of days per week we visit fast food restaurants: 3
* Percentage of students who take short showers instead of baths: 78
* Percentage of students who say food goes to waste in the fridge: 27
* Percentage of students who leave the water on when brushing their teeth: 39
* Percentage of students who receive a daily newspaper: 38
* Percentage who read it consistently: 67
* Percentage who recycle it: 48
* Percentage of student who drive when they could walk, drive or take a bus: 49

Author